Whispers in the Dark
by Googz333
Summary: Finished! Sequel to "By Your Side" and "The Ghost of Me." Tommy and Kim befriend the Scooby gang from Buffy The Vampire Slayer. What happens when a death eater vows vengeance against the rangers? PR/HP/BVTS X-Over.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Saban owns the Power Rangers, Joss Whedon owns the Buffyverse, and JK Rowling owns Harry Potter. I own ideas to cross them all together!

A/N: This is a sequel to "By Your Side" and "The Ghost of Me"

A/N 2: Whispers in the Dark is a song by Skillet

"Whispers in the Dark" – Chapter 1

"Welcome to Sunnydale," Tommy said aloud, observing the sign as their car passed by it. "I still can't believe I never heard of this place before, considering it's only about an hour away."

"No kidding, I guess it's small enough though to miss on a map," Kim replied from the passenger seat of Tommy's Jeep. "I wonder why Harry is out this way in the first place."

"I don't know, maybe there's some representative of the magical government here that he needs to investigate," Tommy speculated. It had been a while since the rangers had seen Harry Potter, and while they were excited to see him and Nymphadora Tonks, seeing them would certainly evoke painful memories from the past. It was the war against the Death Eaters that claimed the lives of Adam Park and Tanya Sloan, as well as their great mentor Zordon. It was this very reason that Kat chose not to travel with Tommy and Kim to see them. The loss of Tanya in particular was still very great for her. Jason, who had stayed by her side throughout her grieving, also stayed back to make sure she was ok. They also needed someone to open up the Yellow Frog Arts and Athletics Complex in the morning. They continued to drive to the location included on the parchment that Hedwig had given them back at the complex, finally arriving about 10 minutes later.

"What is this place?" Kim asked as she stepped out of the car.

"I don't know," he replied. They stood gazing at what looked like a mansion in the middle of the woods. The structure was impressive, with the walls being high and looked sculpted from marble or another type of expensive material.

"Should we go in?" Kim asked. Tommy nodded, and he led her into the rather large entrance, which brought them to a very large main room. Again, this was very impressive, but what caught their eyes was a statue that stood across them by the wall, with a sword sticking through it. "Whoa."

"What is that thing?" Tommy asked.

"That thing is what we're here to look at," a female voice said behind them. "Rather ugly, isn't it?" They turned to find Tonks and Harry.

"It's great to see you!" Kim lunged at them, giving them both big hugs, Tommy following suit.

"Yeah, it's awesome that you could come over to the states," Tommy said.

"Well, when I found out that this would be my first assignment as an auror, I knew I had to take it," Harry mentioned.

"Oh yes, he just couldn't wait to make it over here and see what it was really like," Tonks replied, winking at Harry.

"By the way, Tonks," Kim started to speak, "I love what you've done with your hair."

"Thanks!" She said, as she ran her fingers through her now pink hair.

"Not to interrupt the small talk, but you said you were here to look at that statue," Tommy interjected. "Why?"

"Well, we think that it was the source of some very dark magic," Harry said, now walking closer to the statue.

"Dark magic?" Kim asked. "Like Voldemort, Death Eater type dark magic?"

"No," Tonks answered. "This is different. When we first got the report, it talked about a power that could have consumed the whole of the planet. Voldemort was powerful, but he didn't have any spells that could destroy the planet in one shot."

"Interesting," Harry said, examining the statue. "This sword actually looks like it penetrated the statue while the structure was hardening."

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked.

"Well, if the sword and went through it while it was fully solid, there would be some trace of the blunt force it would take to stab it all the way through this thing."

"So, it went through a long time ago?" Kim asked.

"Well, that's the odd thing about it," Harry began to explain. "The sword itself is old, like it's been passed down for many generations. But the sword shows no signs of rust or anything from being inside of it for so long."

"Maybe we need to go see the man from the Watcher's Council," Tonks said.

"Watcher's Council?" Tommy queried.

"I'm not too familiar with them, but they deal with a lot of different magical creatures, particularly those of demonic nature," Harry answered.

"Yeah, we don't often work alongside them," Tonks added. "Only when it's absolutely necessary."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kim asked. "Let's go see this guy and figure out what's going on." They started to walk towards the car while Tonks and Harry waited behind them. Tommy and Kim noticed that they weren't following them, and turned back around. "What is it?"

"We could just apparate," Tonks replied.

"No offense, but I'd prefer not to feel like I'm going to get sick," Tommy replied. Tonks and Harry smiled at the former red ranger's honesty. "Besides, I can drive us there and we can catch up more." The two wizards nodded and followed Tommy and Kim to his jeep, and the four began to travel into the main part of town. "Do you have the address for this guy?"

"Yeah," Harry said, handing Kim a piece of parchment with it on it.

"I'll find it on the map," Kim replied. After Kim found a rough idea of where they were going, they began to catch up on life. Tonks was still struggling with the death of her husband, Remus Lupin, but thankful that she was able to really get through it more each day. Having Teddy, her son, reminding her everyday of what Remus sacrificed his life for helped. Harry was still dating Ginny, and from the sound of things, he was very content with his new life as an auror. Tommy and Kim updated them on how they were doing, as well as how Jason and Kat were.

"It's too bad that Jason and Kat couldn't make it up," Harry said.

"Yeah, I think they wanted too," Tommy shared. "But Kat's still working through a lot of the emotions. She's doing a lot better than before, but it's just going to take more time."

"Yeah," Harry replied. "So... you two thinking about, uh, how do you say it..."

"Getting married!" Tonks excitedly finished his thought. Tommy and Kim both smiled.

"Let's just say we're talking about it," Tommy said, smiling at them. Kim's smile at the question was telling as well, Harry noticed how much they had grown as a couple since he'd seen them last.

"We've got some things to work through first," Kim said. "But, let's just say it's more a matter of when than if."

"Well... that's great!" Harry replied.

"Not to interrupt, but I think we're here," Tommy said, pulling into an interesting looking complex. They pulled into the middle of a courtyard, surrounded by what looked like town homes. "These look interesting."

"Interesting is an understatement," Kim replied. "Which one is it?"

"This one, over there," Tonks replied, pointing to a door on the first level. They walked over and knocked on the door.

A man opened the door, he looked middle-aged, wore glasses, and had a very proper look to himself. "Can I help you?" He asked with a slight british accent.

"Yes, my name is Nymphadora Tonks, this is Harry Potter, and we're from the Auror office in England. We're looking for Rupert Giles of the Watcher's Council."

"Yes, I'm Rupert Giles. Come in." The four of them walked in the home. It was cozy, with it's contents very interesting to say the least. "And who are you both?"

"Tommy Oliver, and my girlfriend Kimberly Hart," he said extending his hand, which he accepted.

"Where have I heard your names before?" Giles asked. He took a moment to think. "Wait, you two were part of the ranger team that defeated Voldemort, right? And you," he said, pointing to Harry. "You're the one who defeated him once and for all?"

"That's right," Harry replied.

"So... what are you doing here?" Giles asked.

"A couple months back, the Ministry of Magic felt a disturbance of dark magic from here," Tonks explained. "It's central point from the mansion in the middle of the woods here in Sunnydale."

"Angelus' mansion..." Giles muttered, signaling his comprehension.

"Angelus?" Kim asked.

"I studied a vampire by a similar name," Harry replied. "He was brutal, but was thought to have died."

"Well, he was dead in a sense," Giles answered. "A gypsy restored Angelus' soul, leaving him to live with the guilt of all he had done as Angelus. He worked to help destroy the forces of darkness, but the hitch of the curse was that if he had one true moment of happiness, his soul would be removed. He reverted back to Angelus, and tried to destroy the world using a creature named Acathla."

"Acathla?" Harry asked. "Was that the statue with the sword through it?"

"Yes, that was it."

"But, how were you able to deactivate the demon?" Tonks asked.

"Perhaps, before we continue this conversation, you should all sit down and I make us some tea. I have a feeling we are going to be here a while." After they sat and Giles had gotten their tea, he began to explain the events of what had happened last spring. From Angelus' reverting, to the death of his girlfriend Jenny Calendar, their battle in the mansion, and finally Buffy Summers, the slayer, killing Angelus to deactivate the threat of Acathla.

"Whoa, that's intense," Tommy replied.

"No kidding," Kim added. "And I thought high school was tough with Rita and Zedd."

"Buffy ended the threat, but now she's run away," Giles replied. "We have no idea to where she's gone."

"What about Acathla?" Tonks asked. "Are we sure that he's been fully deactivated?"

"According to all my research, he should be completely shut down," Giles replied.

"It's getting late, Tonks," Harry said. "We need to get back to the Ministry with our findings, they're going to want to know all the details."

"Yes, we must be off," Tonks agreed, getting up from the couch she sat on. "Thank you for your help Rupert."

"When will we see you guys again?" Tommy asked.

"Hopefully sooner rather than later!" Harry said. "We'll probably be back over here to wrap more up from this. If not, maybe when we get a wedding invitation from a certain couple." This led to a playful hit from Kim.

"Say hi to Ron and Hermione for us, as well as Ginny," Tommy said.

"You bet." Harry and Tonks stood next to one another and disapparated, leaving only Tommy and Kim with Giles.

"Well, we should probably get going, we need to head back to Angel Grove," Tommy said.

"Could I recommend that you stay the night?" Giles asked.

"Why is that?" Kim queried.

"Sunnydale is infested with vampires, and though I trust you are well prepared to fight them off, I'd feel much better if you traveled by daylight."

"Yeah... I could see that being the better option," Tommy answered. "Do you mind though if I use your phone to call our business partner?"

"Not at all." Tommy went and used the phone to call Jason to let him know that he wouldn't be back in the morning. Kim went out with Giles to get her gym bag, which she always brought around in case they had to stay somewhere overnight. Giles then prepared his guest room for Kim, while Tommy grabbed some pillows and a blanket to sleep on the couch in the living room. They all ended up there.

"Thanks for having us stay," Kim said.

"No problem," Giles replied.

"I still can't believe that there are vampires here," Tommy said. "I mean, when we got our powers last year, we got knowledge of the whole wizarding world, and I remember they revealed things about vampires and werewolves and other demons. But I didn't think anything of it when we got back to Angel Grove."

"You've probably seen them and not even known. Although, with your own issues of Rita, Zedd, Divatox, and Astronema, they probably weren't as prevalent there as they are here. It doesn't help that we are right above the hellmouth."

"Hellmouth?" Kim asked.

"I... don't worry about that. Just get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning." Giles got up and walked upstairs to his bedroom.

"We should probably get some shut-eye," Tommy said to Kim.

"Before we do... Tommy, would you pray with me? I'm scared."

"Sure." They knelt at the couch together and prayed for safety, and then stood up. "Good night, Beautiful."

"Good night." Kim went up to the guest bedroom, and Tommy plopped on the couch, drifting to sleep moments later.

Tommy was awakened the next morning to a flurry of activity by Giles, followed by what seemed like worried chatter from Kim.

"What's going on?" He asked, snapping from his slumber.

"Tommy, your jeep," Kim said nervously. He went and looked outside and saw that someone had broken into it during the night. What was more disturbing was what was written on the outside of it. "Welcome to Sunnydale, rangers."

*Summers' Home*

Joyce Summers heard a knock at the door as she did some routine cleaning on this saturday morning.

"Just a minute," she said, putting everything down on the couch in the living room, then walking over to the door to open it. She was shocked, yet relieved, to see who was on the other side. "Buffy?"

"Hi Mom," she said, fear evident in her voice. Yet, her mother pulled her into an intense hug, welcoming her home.

To Be Continued…

Thanks for reading, please review and give feedback!

~ Googz333


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy, Power Rangers, or any other fandom, I just have ideas to combine them.

A/N: Sorry for the late post... I've been trying to work on this story way ahead so I don't post an unfinished story, but the result was I posted this late. Also, I'm contemplating putting this in the normal Power Rangers section to see if it gets more traffic, or the PR/Harry Potter one because it's the sequel, and will have some more Harry stuff later on. I'll keep you posted.

Whispers in the Dark - Chapter 2

Buffy spent her first day back in Sunnydale unpacking, spending time with her mom helping her clean as well as look at some new artifacts from the museum, including a very odd-shaped mask that Joyce decided to hang on the wall. In the evening she, after getting her mother's permission, went out to see if she could find Xander, Willow, Oz, and Cordelia. She was walking down an alley near the Bronze, when suddenly she heard a scream. She ran to find where the sound originated, and when she arrived she saw a young woman on the ground with a male vampire standing over her.

"I guess you didn't get the memo," Buffy quipped at the vampire, who then turned his face to see her.

"And what's that?" He asked with a large grin on his face. "I cashed in on a 2 for 1 sale?"

"No... that the slayer's back in town, and you're about to get your butt kicked." She pulled a stake out of her jacket and got in a fighting stance, when suddenly from the other side of the alley, four teenagers ran towards the vampire.

"Get away from her you sick... sick maniac," a red-head, undoubtedly Willow who couldn't think of anything witty to say in the moment, said.

The vampire easily tossed her aside, but in doing so allowed the other woman to roll away. Xander and Oz tried to take on the vampire, while Cordelia watched. Willow looked up, noticing someone was standing above her. As she got up, she spoke. "Oh, hey Buffy... wait... Buffy?"

"Hey Will, chat in a sec, I need to save boy 1 and boy 2."

"Right," Willow replied. Buffy moved in and pulled the vampire off of Xander, and proceeded to kick him in the sternum, which sent him flying into a wall. She then readied her stake and plunged into the depth of his heart, causing him to become nothing more than dust.

The others collected themselves, somewhat in awe that Buffy had now returned.

"Buffy!" Xander smiled, in his normal goofy manner. "We, uh, appreciate the help, but Oz and I clearly had him on the ropes."

"Yeah," Oz reluctantly agreed. "Dustage was potential."

"Oh, I know," Buffy replied with a knowing grin. "I just, ya know, wanted to make a grand re-entrance." They all shared a laugh, and then exchanged hugs. "It's good to see you all again."

"It's good to see you too, Buffy," Willow shared.

*Giles' place*

"Any luck on getting the car up and running?" Giles asked.

"Nothing," Tommy replied. "Whoever did this knew how to make sure we were going to be stuck here."

"What I wouldn't give to be able to teleport right now," Kim said.

"No kidding," Tommy added. "I don't get it though, why would someone want to keep us here? And how would they know we were coming in the first place?"

"I'd don't have a clue how, but I'm not surprised," Giles interjected. "Of course, things like this rarely surprise me anymore. Either way, I think it might be best for you to spend another night here at the least. The mechanic that I know has time tomorrow to come over and take a look, he should be able to get it fixed, at least with the problems you told me."

"What should we do until then?" Kim asked.

"Let me think about it," Giles said. "For now, we should get something to eat and then get some sleep."

*Summers' Home*

It had been a whirlwind of a day for Buffy as she tried to get back to her usual routine. First, she and Joyce attempted to get her back into the high school, put Principal Snyder denied her re-entry with a sadistic sense of delight. That didn't stop her, however, from seeing Giles for the first time in what seemed like forever. After Joyce left to prepare Buffy's welcome home dinner, Buffy met with Giles and the Scoobies to discuss the plan to patrol for the rest of the week.

Buffy was thankful to get home, as she wanted nothing more than to rest before everyone came over for her dinner. However, she got more than she bargained for, as Xander had decided for her that she would want a huge party. Evening set in, and people poured in to the home, seemingly by the hundreds. Buffy didn't know what to make of it, and was considerably hurt by the fact that it seemed like people wanted to come more for the fact that it was a free party, and not because she had returned. She even overheard someone say, "I heard the party's hosted by some psycho that chose to leave Sunnydale for good!" This upset her to the point where she stormed upstairs. Willow noticed, and followed her while everyone continued to party. In the midst of the commotion, no one noticed the flashing eyes coming from the odd-looking mask hanging in Joyce's living room.

*Giles' Place*

"Car's all fixed!" Tommy exclaimed, prompting Kim to give a giant sigh of relief. "That mechanic sure knew what he was doing. Thanks for your help!"

"No problem," Giles replied. "Are you sure you want to leave during the night?"

"I appreciate the caution, but the last time we waited it ended up costing us. I think it would be better if we tried to leave now."

"Right, that makes sense. Before you leave, would you mind giving me a ride over to someone's house? Buffy's returned, and I need to go over some logistics with her tonight on her patrol."

"Not at all," Tommy answered. "After all you've done for us, it's the least we can do."

"Wait, Buffy?" Kim said. "As in the slayer?"

"Yes," Giles said.

"Do you think she'd know about who is watching us?"

"I doubt it," Giles answered her. "She just returned from Los Angeles, and is just getting back into the swing of things when it comes to her normal duties."

"Oh."

"It'll be ok, Kim," Tommy reassured her. "We do need to get back to Angel Grove, and Jason and Kat are back there. We can check with them and see what's up." He put his arm around her to comfort her, and Kim responded with a weak smile, clearly not satisfied with this, but willing to follow Tommy's lead.

"Ok. Let's go home." They got in the car with Giles and drove towards the Summers'. They continued to drive along down one of the streets, when suddenly a man jumped in front of the car.

"TOMMY LOOK OUT!" Was all Kim could say before the man's body collided with Tommy's Jeep. All the airbags deployed, and it took a moment or two before Tommy and Kim could clear them out of the way.

"Tommy, you check to see if the car still works," Giles said as he opened the rear passenger door. "I'll check to see if this man is ok."

"Ok."

Giles went to see the man that they had hit, and checked his neck for two things: a pulse, and a bite mark. He had neither, which was why he was even more surprised when the arm on the body reached up and grabbed his throat, beginning to choke him. Giles was gagging over the strength of what he now could describe as a person who looked like they were dead, but was still moving around. "H... he...lp." The walking dead man now stood up, lifting Giles off the ground by his throat, Giles trying to pry the death grip that he maintained on him.

"Ki-Yah!" Tommy yelled as he thrust the side of his foot into the man's temple. Giles stumbled to the ground, where Kimberly was able to brace his fall. "Kim, is it me, or does he look like one of those zombie-like guys that Voldemort turned Adam and Tanya into?"

"Maybe," she said squeamishly. "Either way, he doesn't look good."

"We need to get back to the car!" Giles gasped. The others looked where Giles had been, and saw a mob of them coming towards them, probably a couple hundred yards off.

"It's dead... again." Tommy replied. "Where's the house we were driving you too? We could run there, take shelter and come up with a plan."

"Let's do that."

"Let's hurry!" Kim shouted.

*Summers' Home*

Buffy packed a bag as quickly as she could in her room, upset by the party that was supposed to be in her honor. She looked out the window, wondering if she could really run again.

"You're leaving again?" Willow asked from the doorway. Buffy turned to find her there.

"Why would it matter, Will," Buffy said. "No one cares that I was gone, no knows what I'm going through."

"You think you're the only one whose in pain, or... or who is trying to understand their life?" Willow asked, now with an edge to her voice. "Or is that just reserved for slayers?"

"Will..." Buffy tried to start speaking, but Joyce walked into the bedroom.

"What are you doing?" Joyce asked, noticing the half-packed bag on Buffy's bed.

"She's leaving," Willow shared in an angry tone. As they carried on their conversation in Buffy's bedroom, Giles, Tommy, and Kim rushed into the doorway downstairs, where the party was still going on with dozens of people milling around. Giles saw Xander and pulled him aside, while Tommy closed the door shut and dead-bolted it.

"Where's Buffy?" Giles asked Xander.

"I don't know, but who's the cutie and the fabio look-alike?" Xander replied, just out of ear-shot of the rangers.

"Xander! This isn't time for..." Giles began to scold Xander, but was interrupted by the angry tone coming from the staircase, which caused everyone to turn their heads to see a miserable-looking Buffy being chased down the staircase by her mother, who was speaking, and Willow who also had a frustrated scowl on her face. The found themselves on the first floor now, and finally, Buffy verbally countered them.

"I don't know what to do!" Buffy shouted angrily. "I left because I was scared, I felt like I didn't have anywhere to go. Then I went to L.A., and I wasn't happy there, and I come back here, and now, there are people in my house for a party that don't care about me, and I feel like you guys don't care about me..."

"No offense, Buff, but this is the problem," Xander piped up. "You think this is all about you!"

"Xander?" Buffy was at a loss for words.

"Yeah, so you can't handle the fact that you impact other people's lives, so you're just going to abandon us again!" He continued. "Think of what you put your mother through, of what you put us through."

"Xander..." Giles tried to interject, but Xander cut him off again.

"I'm not finished..."

"No offense," to everyone's surprise it was Tommy, with Kim by his side, who interrupted. "But we kind of have a situation outside."

"Umm," was all Xander could say.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Buffy finished the silence in the room. Before Tommy could answer, multiple windows were being broken into, undead beginning to filter into the house. Widespread panic ensued, with many of the partygoers scrambling trying to get away out of the now infiltrated house, some without success as they were killed. The scoobies, Joyce, along with her friend and the ranger teens were fighting off the undead. Buffy, Joyce, and Joyce's friend who had been with them hurried upstairs along with Willow and Oz. While Xander, Cordelia, Giles, and the rangers stayed downstairs able to help some of the others escape.

In the melee, Joyce's friend was caught by one of the zombies and was strangled to death, while the others made it to the Joyce's bedroom and closed the door to figure out a strategy. While they hid, Joyce's friend became one of the undead, and rose and went downstairs to the living room, where the others still were fighting off the other zombies. Joyce's friend went to where Joyce had hung the weird looking mask, and put it on. Suddenly, the other zombies cowered in fear.

"I have a feeling that's not a good thing," Xander said.

"That's a great observation," Cordelia said sarcastically.

"Buffy!" Giles yelled.

"You guys go, I'll take her," Tommy said.

"Uhh... do you have any idea..." before Xander could finish his thought, Tommy unleashed into a flurry of kicks, punches and blocks, engaging in a fight with what could only be described as the 'zombie leader.' Buffy and the others rushed down, seeing the former red ranger holding his own against her.

"Buffy, I've seen that mask before," Giles said. "It's named Ovu Mobani, which raises people from the dead. Whoever puts it on becomes the demon incarnate."

"How do I stop it?"

"Destroy it's eyes." After Giles finished speaking, Buffy rushed and fought with Tommy.

"Go, you can't beat this thing, I can," Buffy said to Tommy.

"No, I'm not letting you fight this thing by your se..." he couldn't finish his sentence as he was hammered down by a forearm to the head, leading him to crash into the living room wall.

"TOMMY!" Kim said, running over to him to make sure he was ok. Buffy continued to fight the demon, leading it outside to their backyard. Buffy had managed to gain the upper hand, when suddenly the demon's eyes flashed. Buffy went to move, but she realized that it was no use. The demon's eyes had frozen her. The demon moved towards her ready to make Buffy meet her fate.

"Ki-yah!" Tommy shouted as he flipped through the air and landed his feet right into the side of the demon's head, forcing it to stagger on it's feet. He landed a tornado kick to the face of the demon, and then grabbed it by the arms, holding it in a nelson-style hold. "Now Kim!"

The scoobies looked over to see the petite gymnast holding a sharp pole that had been laying in the yard, and she thrusted into the face of the demon, connecting with the eye as Tommy dodged the pole and landed on the ground. Suddenly, Buffy was no longer in her frozen state, the demon was vaporizing, and the rest of the zombies disappeared. Buffy went and hugged her mom, and then Willow and Xander, who seemed to have easily forgiven one another after a fierce battle. Then, she turned to Tommy and Kim.

"Thanks, you, uh..." Buffy stammered. "Don't take this the wrong way, but, who are you?"

"Tommy Oliver, and this is Kimberly Hart," he said, extending his hand, which Buffy gladly accepted. "I take it you're Buffy, the slayer?"

"Is me being the slayer public knowledge now?" She asked.

"They came with friends who happen to be allies with the watcher's council in London," Giles replied. "I told them. They weren't even supposed to be in town, but their car has been put out of commission twice."

"I'd say it's a good thing that you were able to stick around," Oz said. "Well... minus the car wreckage." They smiled at Oz's comments, with the group now returning inside the confines of the Summer's home. As they returned inside the house, none of them noticed in the distance a man dressed in black, with long blonde hair and a walking cane, his gaze fixed on the doorway that led into the home.

"Have fun, rangers, while you can," the man said to himself. "Soon, I will avenge my Dark Lord... and I, Lucius Malfoy, will rule both wizards and muggles."

To Be Continued…

Please Remember to Review! Thanks for reading!

~ Googz333


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing except ideas. Saban owns Power Rangers, JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, Joss Whedon owns Buffy.

Chapter 3 – Whispers in the Dark

*Summers' home*

Tommy and Kim spent the night with Buffy and Joyce, again trying to figure out what to do about their busted car. Tommy spent an hour on the phone with Jason, again trying to explain why they couldn't come back to Angel Grove. Between the need to fix the car, again, and trying to understand who might be watching them, Tommy felt there was good reason to stay for a bit longer. In the morning, Buffy and Joyce left to make an appeal to the school board to be allowed back into the school for her senior year. Tommy went to be with his car for when the tow truck would arrive, which left Kim all alone, who decided that if they were going to be in Sunnydale for a while, they at least would need some other clothes and toiletries to live on.

Buffy and Joyce returned home, finding out that their appeal had been accepted that she'd be re-enrolled the next day. Next was Kim, who had managed to carry four or five rather large shopping bags balanced on her small frame.

"I see you found the mall easily enough," Buffy joked, seeing Kim enter the home.

"Yeah... I needed to get a few things, and... well."

"You like to shop?" They both grinned at Buffy's question. "Next time I'll have to go with you, I can help you find all the deals in town."

"That sounds great... I just... no offense, but I hope the next time I'm shopping in Angel Grove." Kim was putting the bags down near the couch and then sank into it, while Buffy seated herself on an end table across from her. "The longer we stay here, the longer I feel something bad is going to happen. I mean, the first night we were here, someone wrote on Tommy's car, 'welcome to Sunnydale, rangers.' How would someone know who we are, and why would they care?"

"I don't know," Buffy replied honestly. "But it's not the weirdest thing to happen in this town, and it's not weird considering that you and Tommy are somewhat famous, being power rangers and all."

"Yeah..." They sat quietly for a few minutes before Buffy chose to change the subject.

"So, are you and Tommy together?"

"Yeah, almost for a year and a half now. Before that we were dating for 3 years in high school, but I broke up with him while I was in Florida."

"Wow... you guys have been together a long time."

"Yeah. Are you dating anyone?"

"I... um, no," Buffy replied quickly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry," Kim responded, patently chewing on her bottom lip.

"No... it's..." Buffy stopped, trying to think how to word what she was about to say. "I was in love with a vampire."

"Really?" Kim asked genuinely. "What happened?"

"Well... his name was Angel. He was different though. He had a soul."

"What do you mean?"

"He fought other vampires. He fought alongside me. And, he loved me."

"Oh. What happened between you two?"

"Well, the soul was part of a curse, punishment for his old life. If he experienced one moment of true happiness, he would lose it and revert to Angelus, which was who he was before the soul. One night, we came back from a battle and we... well..."

"Oh," Kim said, realizing what Buffy was implying.

"Afterwards he turned, and went on terrorizing me and the town, and activated Acathla to destroy the world. I killed him to stop it."

"I'm sorry." They sat silently, Kim thinking through what Buffy had just shared with her, when Buffy asked a question.

"So, if you and Tommy have been together so long, why did you request separate rooms?"

"Personal choice," was all Kim replied.

"Ahhh... saving yourself for marriage type of deal?"

"More than that." Before Kim could explain, Tommy walked through the door to see Kim and Buffy sitting in the living room.

"Hey, everything all right?" He asked.

"Yeah, but would you mind carrying these bags upstairs?" Kim asked, Buffy silently thanking her so that she wouldn't have to explain everything again to Tommy.

"No problem, Beautiful."

It wasn't too long before dinner, and Mrs. Summers had prepared a fantastic meal for her daughter and her new friends. It was during the meal that Tommy was happy to announce that, despite a very steep price, he was told that his jeep should be up and running in no time. Afterwards, Xander and the rest of the scoobies arrived at the Summers' home to walk over to the Bronze together. It was odd to both Tommy and Kim to go to a typical high school hang-out, considering they had both been out of school for a couple of years. Even more so that the bronze wasn't exactly the Youth Center. Even so, they were delighted to be in the company of someone who could potentially lead them to find their stalker.

The music blared as the gang found a table, and oddly the group began to notice a very attractive brunette dancing with some guy that, quite honestly, didn't look like he measured up. Tommy and Kim whispered to each other, but then set their attention on the scoobies as they caught up on life.

"So, did you guys have a place like this in Angel Grove?" Cordelia asked.

"Kind of," Tommy responded. "It was more of a gym though and less of a club."

"Gym?" Xander asked. "How could a hangout be a gym?"

"Well, it wasn't just a gym," Kim replied. "There was a juice bar, and sometimes Tommy and I taught classes there. You know, martial arts and gymnastics classes, to younger students."

"That's one of the reasons we decided to go into the business we have now."

"Right, the Yellow Frog thingy, right?" Buffy asked.

"Yellow Frog?" Willow asked.

"Is that a power ranger thing?" Oz asked.

"More than that," Kim said, now thinking about how the four teens came to name their new found school. Before she could dwell on it too long, Buffy broke her thoughts.

"That girl, the one dancing with the way not stylish guy... where'd she go?"

"Do you think that the guy wasn't exactly human?" Tommy asked.

"Vampire 101, the boys generally have no sense of style." As Buffy finished, she and the rest of the crew got up and rushed out of the building into the main parking lot. The seven of them stood outside with very little noise, minus the faint music from the Bronze.

"Buff, maybe we're just over-reacting," Xander said. However, immediately after the words left his mouth, they heard a crash on the other side of the building.

"You were saying?" Tommy asked sarcastically, spurring the group to run towards the loud noise. As they approached the back alley, Buffy pulled a stake from her coat, ready to spring into action. However, what the group found was rather surprising: the brunette girl was more than holding her own with the now vampire-faced teenaged boy. After she kicked him into the wall, she looked over to see Buffy and the others not more than 15 feet from her.

"Mind if I borrow that?" She asked Buffy, pointing to the wooden weapon. Buffy, confused, merely shrugged and handed it to her, watching as she fiercely elbowed the vampire back into the wall of the building, and then thrusting the stake deep in the heart, turning him to dust. She walked back over to the scoobies, along with Tommy and Kim. "You must be Buffy. I'm Faith, the new slayer in town."

*Abandoned Warehouse, outskirts of Sunnydale, CA*

"I got off the phone with the Mayor, and we're all cleared to take out both slayers," a young black man, at least in appearance, shared out loud. "However, he also seemed to think that there were two other people we should be concerned about, they once called themselves... how did he put it, power rangers." It was then that an older man appeared. His face was disfigured, a scar running down from his right eye towards his cheek, his fingers cloven together, and his face portraying that of an obvious vampire.

"Mr. Trick," the vampire started. "I don't care how many humans, slayers, or power rangers you give me... I want Faith first."

"I understand that, Kakistos," the black man, who was named 'Mr. Trick,' replied. "My point is the Mayor doesn't like that all these folks are in town, he has big plans. If he is cautious, we should probably be as well."

*Summers' Home*

The scoobies and rangers, along with Faith, came back to the Summers' home confused about their new companion. Not only was the shock on the fact that she was a slayer, but in how she handled herself. She was edgy and crude, at one point Kim wanted to slap her for saying a suggestive comment to Tommy, but she resisted. But, at the same time, there was a feeling of pity and sadness for the girl. With all the power and beauty, it seemed as though she had lived a hard life. As she shared with them about her life, Tommy and Kim couldn't help but want to reach out to her. Her mom had been a drunk, Dad split town, watcher/mentor was killed.

Still, as they settled back into the Summers' home, and Faith in her apartment, Kim and Buffy stayed up talking about the events of the night.

"You doing ok?" Buffy asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Kim replied. "You looked pretty shaken by the fact that there is another slayer."

"Yeah... it's complicated. I mean, there was another slayer, last year. But she was completely different, by the book. Faith... it just seems like she's running from something."

"It's too bad she can't keep running out of town," Kim muttered not so subtly. Buffy smirked. "I'm sorry... I just... I keep going from I want to help her to I want to punch her."

"The comment about her and Tommy "shacking up" wasn't exactly tactful."

"Is that what she said?" Tommy interjected, coming from the basement up to the living room. "I had no clue, I was talking with Giles about something when I saw your cheeks got red and puffy."

"Yeah... Faith talked about how she wouldn't mind, well... and she's very attractive and..."

"Not you." As he said that to Kim he quickly slipped his arm around her shoulder and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Trust me when I say you won't have to worry about her, or anyone else for that matter."

"No offense, but the amount of cuteness might make me gag," Buffy joked at the pair, which brought a much needed laugh.

*Mayor's office, next morning*

"Mr. Finch, you know I don't like it when dust finds it way onto my desk," A tall, slender man with slicked back brown hair said. He said it with a slight smile, but the balding man standing across from him felt no ease at his smile.

"Yes, Mayor Wilkins," he said with a slight stutter. "I'll make sure to get lysol and a rag and wipe it down for you."

"Oh, it's not necessary for you to clean it Mr. Finch!" He said, now with an even wider grin. "I just need to make sure that we restock so that we can keep this office spotless. Now, I'm meeting with Mr. Trick in the evening, which is necessary since he's a vampire. Are there any other appointments on the schedule?"

"Just one, although I don't know exactly who it is," Deputy Mayor Allan Finch replied. "All I know is he will be here any moment."

"Well, it must be important. Why don't you go outside and show him into my office when he arrives." Finch departed from the room, which was neatly organized and had all the essentials for a working office of a Mayor. He waited, until he heard a knock at the door. "Come in." As he peered towards the doorway the first thing he saw was a cane tap the floor. His eyes followed upwards to the man's clean-shaven face and golden flowing locks of hair.

"Well, well... you are no ordinary muggle, are you."

"Ahhh... muggle. British wizards have always been so exciting to meet! I'm delighted to meet you. I'm Mayor Wilkins, and you are?"

"Malfoy. Lucius Malfoy," he said coolly, rejecting a business-like handshake as he wandered over to the window across from his desk, thumbing through the blinds. "I hear you have major plans coming up. A way to rule the muggles of this town. I'd like to help you, if you'd be willing to help me." Mayor Wilkins responded with a devilish, yet seemingly kind, smile.

"I think we could come to some sort of mutual agreement."

It had been another long, nerve-wracking day for Tommy and Kim. The more they waited in Sunnydale to find answers, the more they felt like they were going to have to stay there for months, maybe even years, before they actually found out who or what was potentially pursuing them. Buffy noticed how the tension was especially getting to Kim, so she suggested that they just stay at their place and take it ease for the day. Besides, it seemed like their jeep was finally going to be ready to go, so Tommy wanted to make sure he could pick it up during the daylight.

Buffy, however, had no time to rest. As she prepped with Giles to patrol, they came across an old vampire named Kakistos in one of the books they were using for research. Between some of the bits and pieces of information that Faith had given them, they were concerned that Kakistos could end up coming to Sunnydale, and that Faith might have even been fleeing from him, leading him right to the hellmouth. From this, Buffy decided that it was time to start being a bit more forceful in terms of pumping Faith for information.

When she arrived at Faith's motel room, the edge that she carried with her faded for the moment. It was a classic dive of a motel, which she had expected when she mentioned the part of town she was staying in. But it was worse than she imagined. The siding on the outside looked worn, with patches of paint stripped away. The sign looked like it went through more than one earthquake without being fixed up, and the doors and windows hadn't been updated in decades. Some of them were splintered or broken, one of them was even shattered in. It was a surprise that the building wasn't condemned and shut down. She gradually walked towards the door of Faith's room, and knocked. The door swung open, revealing the hot mess that was Faith. Ripped jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, and messy black hair.

"Sup, B?" Faith asked nonchalantly. Apparently, Faith was all ready on a first letter basis with the ranking slayer.

"Well, F," Buffy replied, clearly regaining her edge that she had lost when she had first approached the motel. "There's been a few clues that a new vamp is in town." She closed the door behind her, looking at her and then the room, which was undoubtedly decrepit in its appearance. The wallpaper was peeling, the mattress looked like it was busting at the seams, and there had all ready been a few cockroach sightings. However, Buffy was unfazed this time, her eyes becoming fixated on her slayer counterpart. "Does the name Kakistos ring a bell?" Faith flinched at his name, which was visibly obvious to Buffy. "So, you know him?"

"Yeah, I've heard of him," she said coolly, trying to recover from her obvious shock. "Old dude, right?"

"Yeah... old, to the point where his hands are cloven. Apparently he recently killed some random watcher..."

"HE WASN'T JUST SOME WATCHER!" Faith shouted, clearly disturbed.

"He was your watcher... wasn't he?"

"Yeah."

"What happened?" Buffy asked genuinely.

"Kakistos captured us, killed him right in front of me. Then he tried to kill me. Instead, he came away with a car across half his face."

"And now he's looking for retribution?"

"He won't get the chance, I'm..."

"Running?" Buffy asked, growing impatient. "Leave me to clean up your mess while you run away?"

Faith squirmed as Buffy challenged her, but they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Faith ran to the door to look through the peep-hole. "Who is it?"

"Just the creepy receptionist guy of the motel," Faith replied in a perturbed tone. "He's been annoying the crap out of me, keeps creeping on me." She opened the door. "What do you wan..." She stopped short as the lanky boy fell to the ground, clearly dead. She looked back up to see a terrifying face in front of her.

"Oh Faith, how I've missed you," Kakistos hissed. Faith instinctively kicked him in the midsection, realizing that he could enter without an invitation.

"Out the back!" Faith yelled, and Buffy and Faith fled through the back door. Kakistos got up with a smile on his face, motioning for his men to pursue them. The slayers found their way into a back alley, running as fast as they could until they found an opening in an abandoned warehouse. They ran into the center of it, when suddenly, Buffy grabbed Faith by the arm to stop her.

"Faith, look around us, people have been living here," noting the supplies and other things strewn around the room.

"An astute observation Ms. Summers," A young, black man appeared to their left. "The name is Mr. Trick."

"I'd say the trick was on you," Buffy quipped, while Faith looked around nervously. Trick only smiled devilishly, and began pacing.

"You know, it's sad that it had to come to this. If Faith never came here, you, Ms. Summers, could have had a shot at a normal life, with normal friends... well, as normal as power rangers are."

"How do you know about them?" Buffy asked sternly.

"Let's just say I have friends in high places. Speaking of which." Trick merely pointed behind them, and as the turned around simultaneously, both Faith and Buffy were struck in their temples by Kakistos. They staggered up as Kakistos and maybe six other vampires encompassed them in the center of the warehouse.

"Faith, you need to help me in this, we can beat them," Buffy whispered to Faith, trying to help build her confidence. However, Buffy knew that she was going to be of little help in this battle. Her legs were shaking, eyes nearly glazed over. The once overconfident new slayer was overcome with fear, clearly thinking she would always be able to outrun her pursuers. "Faith, now!" Buffy shouted, breaking her stance with her, going right for the leader of the pack. Faith, still shaky, tried to begin fighting, but was almost immediately knocked to the ground by a pair of Kakistos' minions. Buffy was able to land some hits on Kakistos, including a devastating roundhouse kick into his chest. As he staggered, Buffy pulled out her stake and plunged it into his chest. She waited for him to turn to ash, but nothing happened. He merely grinned at her and then swatted her across her face, sending her to the hard concrete ground. Faith fought off the pack of vamps, slowly regaining her confidence. That is, until she turned to see her true adversary. Her face drained itself of all color, becoming a colorless white. She noticed the stake still sticking out of his chest, and an idea hit her, and with precision aimed a kick directly at the stake to plunge it further into his heart, but to no avail. He caught her leg, and with great force he swiftly swung her into the hard wall, Faith's body landing on the concrete with a thud.

"Oh Faith," He cackled, methodically plodding his way towards her near lifeless body. "I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart."

"Hey!" A male voice shouted behind him. Kakistos turned only to see a young man twirl in the air and thrust his foot directly to the stake, plunging it into the depths of his heart. He looked at him, realizing that a mere mortal had just defeated one of the most legendary vampires of all time. Once he turned to ash, Tommy Oliver ran to Faith to check on her, as Xander and the other scoobies chased off the other vamps, with Mr. Trick disappearing into the darkness of the night outside of the warehouse. "Kim, check on Buffy," he said looking to her, and Kim nodded and rushed over to the girl who was currently picking herself up off the floor. Tommy meanwhile helped Faith up. "You ok?"

"Five by five," she responded, but Tommy gave a confused look. "I'm ok, thanks."

"Faith," Buffy gasped, sporting a bruise near her eye and being helped by Kim to move.

"Let's go home," she quickly stated. "We gotta rest if we're going to keep on top of our slayer duties."

"Right."

They travelled back to the Summers home, Faith immediately going to sleep and Joyce out of town at a convention, leaving only Buffy, Kim and Tommy in the living room.

"So it was Kakistos that was after us?" Tommy asked. "Why?"

"I don't know, but it seemed like Mr. Trick, whoever he is, knew something about you," Buffy answered.

"Do you think we have anything else to worry about?" Kim asked nervously.

"I doubt it... I think you guys should be in the clear to get back to Angel Grove," Buffy replied.

"Finally!" Kim shouted joyously. "No offense, but I'm extremely excited to get back."

"Haha, I understand," Buffy grinned. "Just know that you now have good friends in Sunnydale."

"Likewise in Angel Grove," Tommy replied. Kim inched closer towards Tommy on the couch, when Buffy asked a sudden question.

"Just how did you find us in that warehouse anyway?"

"Honestly, we saw those creeps as we were driving back from picking up the jeep," Kim explained. "When we saw they were chasing you, we went and parked it and ran after you guys."

"Xander went to drop us off, and he had Oz and Willow with him, so that's how we all got there," Tommy continued.

"I guess having a twice-busted jeep paid off, didn't it?"

*Mayor's Office*

Deputy Mayor Finch walked Mr. Trick into the office and left him alone with the Mayor. "Feel free to take a seat Mr. Trick," Mayor Wilkins said politely. He did so without saying a word. "Can I get you anything? Water, tea, coffee, blood of a beautiful young lady?"

"You know, for a demon who longs to ascend, you are the quintessential nice guy," Mr. Trick retorted.

"Well, I prefer manners and cleanliness. I mean, besides, cleanliness is next to godliness." The Mayor almost got himself to laugh, but Trick only smirked at his evil counterpart. "Of course, I see myself as that god, so... I prefer me, then cleanliness. Anyway, I'd love to know why you came here."

"The slayer."

"Which one? Because, I don't know if you realized this, but because of you and your former master, I now have to deal with two of those pubescent fighting machines."

"What if I could help you eliminate them?" Trick asked with a knowing grin.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Let's just say I'm well connected," Trick smiled wickedly, which the Mayor matched with a smile of his own.

"Let me consult with one of my trusted consultants, and we can get the ball rolling. By the way... what happened to the rangers? My consultant is going to want to know about them as well."

*Summer's home*

Buffy, Faith, Giles, and the rest of the scoobies had come over during the lunch hour to see off their new found friends. Once Tommy and Kim packed up the jeep, stood outside their jeep to give one last good-bye to their new friends.

"Thanks for everything," Tommy said, pulling Buffy into a hug, followed by Kim giving the blonde a giant squeeze.

"I'm pretty sure it's us that should be thanking you," Buffy said with a faint grin. "I think you guys saved our lives twice over the past week."

"And I'm pretty sure you helped us by figuring out who was after us," Kim said. They shook the rest of their hands, and then Tommy and Kim climbed into the driver's and passenger's seats, closed the doors, and started their trek back to Angel Grove.

"I'm going to miss them," Willow said.

"Yeah, they were pretty chill," Oz replied, wrapping his arm around Willow.

"They were a cute couple too," Cordelia chimed in, garnering an odd look from Xander. "What? I can't say that they looked like a really cute couple? I mean, they were like Angel and Buffy before Angel turned all evil on us." This garnered odd, even menacing looks from everyone, minus Faith who seemed mildly intrigued.

"Thanks for the reminder, Cordy," Buffy muttered, clearly shaken by this comment. Silence became the norm for the rest of their time at Buffy's home, and when it was time for everyone to back to the school, Buffy chose instead to stay home. The emotions brought out by reminders of what she had with Angel were finally too much to bear and she spent the late afternoon lying on her bed in tears. As it became evening, she focused on the ring on her finger. It was a Claddagh ring, the one Angel had given her the night before they had consummated their relationship and he had reverted to Angelus. She focused on it, for the longest time seeing it as the last strand of hope that he would one day return as just Angel. But she knew he wasn't coming back. She had made sure of it. Convinced that she had to finally let the idea of him go, she urged herself out of bed and made the trek to his old mansion. Memories resurfaced of when she had killed him to save the world. Even as she entered, she saw the statue of Acathla, which moved her close to tears. She lifted up her hand and slid the ring off her finger, looked at it for one last time, allowing one last moment of hope. Then, she dropped it in the middle of the floor, a small clank sounding as it hit the ground. "Goodbye Angel," she whispered. She slowly walked out, hoping against hope that maybe something would happen, like in the movies where you think your long lost love is dead, and instead he miraculously survived. But she knew that wasn't going to happen. She finally left, looking back to the mansion almost each minute until its sight disappeared from her eyes.

It was then that it happened. The mansion became filled with wondrous light, and a male body fell from the ceiling, hitting the ground hard. The man was naked, markings of obvious torture stained him. If Buffy had remained for just 10 minutes longer, she would have recognized him instantly as Angel. Yet, something was different. Though he was no longer Angelus, his eyes were filled with bloodlust. Something had tortured him to this point. The question was who?

To Be Continued...

Thanks for reading, don't forget to review!

- Googz333


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than ideas, Saban, Joss Whedon, and JK Rowling own the characters and universes.

A/N: So, I have finished this book, so I will be posting pretty regularly from now on. I think I'm going to keep this in the Harry Potter/Power Ranger Crossover, because the last installment will center around Harry and the rangers, even though there are other characters mixed in.

A/N 2: Thanks to those of you who have reviewed so far!

Whispers in the Dark – Chapter 4

*Yellow Frog Arts and Athletics Complex, Angel Grove, CA*

Tommy opened the front doors of the large building, and walked through the mats to get to the back of the gym area, where the offices were located. "Well look who finally decided to come back to work!" Jason said with a mischievous grin. Tommy merely rolled his eyes with a faint smirk on his face. "What happened, I thought you would have been home earlier last night?"

Tommy sighed. "Well, after I took Kim home to her apartment, I decided to swing by my folks place. Turns out they were worried sick about me, so I spent some time with them."

"What were they worried about?" Jason asked.

"Well, in all the time I spent communicating with you, I had forgotten to let them know where I was at all. They thought maybe I had taken another trip to London or something like that... and last time we did that, they barely heard from me for a year."

"So you had to do damage control last night?" Jason asked.

"Yeah... Dad was ok, but Mom was a wreck. She went from thinking that Kim and I went to Vegas to get eloped to thinking that we were dead."

"You didn't get eloped, did you?" Tommy hit his best friend on the shoulder, wearing a mild scowl on his face.

"No, I swear that we were actually with someone named Buffy Summers, and yes, we were attacked by vampires, and no, Kim and I are not married. Yet."

"I'll get to that 'yet' in a minute," Jason smirked. "So... you actually fought vampires?"

"Yeah... and zombies."

"Geez, man." Jason sighed as he sat back in his chair, putting his legs up on his desk, revealing the pants of his karate gi. "Are we magnets for trouble or something?"

"Maybe, but I think there's something more to it than just simple coincidence." He pulled up a chair at the desk and sat down. "I told you about how when we got there, when they totaled the car the first time, that they knew we were rangers."

"Yeah, but didn't that slayer girl tell you that the group you fought was well connected, that they knew you were in town?"

"That's just it Jase. The ringleader wanted the one girl, the second slayer."

"Faith, right?"

"Yeah. He was consumed with killing her, to the point where after he had knocked Buffy to the ground, he completely ignored her. I just don't think it was him."

"Then who do you think it was?" Jason asked curiously.

"Well, I mean the whole reason we went in the first place was because Harry asked us to go. What if he was followed? What if one of Voldemort's followers came after us? What if they wanted revenge?"

"Why wouldn't they go after Harry first? Why would they go after powerless ex-rangers?"

"Remember how the death eaters were before!" Tommy exclaimed intensely, keeping his voice down but moving up in his chair. "They loved torturing muggles. Did it to intimidate those who stood in their way."

"Ok, so what if you're right?" Jason asked. "What exactly do we do about it?"

"Maybe there's a way to get in touch with Harry and the others?" Tommy asked.

"What are we getting in touch with Harry for?" A soft, Australian voice asked from behind Tommy. "I thought you and Kim just saw them?"

"Tommy here was just saying that once he elopes with Kim, he'll need to get a hold of him," Jason said, winking at Tommy to remind him that Kat was still struggling with the past events with their magical friends.

"My parents, when they didn't hear from me, thought Kim and I had gotten eloped in Vegas," Tommy said with a half-grin.

"I think Rocky would have bet on that if he could," Kat joked. "He's convinced you proposed to Kim while you were away."

"Sadly, no," Tommy replied. "Though, I would have traded that for fighting vampires and zom..." Tommy tried to stop himself, but it was too late, and he saw Kat's warm expression turn into one that he, Jason, Kim, and Rocky had seen for so long: deep, cold, sadness. Tears started to run down her face, and Jason quickly got up and handed her a few tissues that had been in a box on his desk, and then slipped his arm around her to comfort her." They were silent for moments, and then Jason had pulled her aside, and they gave each other a brief hug and then Jason walked back into the office with a frustrated and embarrassed Tommy.

"I'm sorry, bro," Tommy confessed. Jason waited to speak, and Tommy was afraid of what he might say. This wasn't the first time Tommy had made a mistake with his words around Kat.

"It's okay," Jason said, almost in a whisper. "I just wish... man, it's just hard, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked, and Jason motioned Tommy to shut the door behind him. He shut the door gently, and then looked to the former leader of the power rangers.

"I feel like I'm walking on egg shells every time I'm with her, and the slightest thing that reminds her of Tanya and Adam, she breaks down and cries. I mean, I'm trying to be patient, but it's been almost two years since we lost them, and I still feel as if we've made no progress."

"How are you holding up?" Tommy asked, prodding him for his own personal thoughts.

"Honestly, I don't know," Jason confessed with a heavy sigh. At this point he plopped back down in his office chair and reclined as far back as he could. "I mean, I really love her. We've talked about this before, that the next paycheck I get is going towards an engagement ring and savings for the wedding. But I can't save her from this. As hard as I try, I can't. I feel helpless trying to care for her, and I wonder if she'll ever recover. And I wonder if that's something I can live with."

"She'll recover," Tommy replied gently. "She's made strides since we've been back. Remember how she used to be? She couldn't look at us without starting to tear up. It's just going to take a lot more time than we thought. Just be patient." Jason nodded his head in agreement, but Tommy could tell his head was much faster than his heart in that agreement. He understood the sentiment though. For some reason, though he was good friends with Adam and Tanya, their deaths took a lot less time to process for him than his ex-girlfriend. He didn't know if it was because Kim, Kat, and Jason, arguably his three closest friends, had been the ones to survive the whole ordeal with Voldemort. Still, he could understand why Jason was questioning himself.

"Speaking of buying an engagement ring," Jason's words awoke Tommy from his thoughts. "You going to pop the question any time soon?"

"Funny you should ask that," Tommy replied. "I'm thinking fairly soon. I know that would leave you without a roommate, but..."

"Don't even go there, Oliver," Jason said, rolling his eyes and a small smile coming to his face. "You are not using me as an excuse to get out of doing this!"

"No, that's not where I was going with it," Tommy reassured his best friend. "I'm just saying, that would be the last piece of the puzzle, is where I'm going to live. I mean, thanks to this place, monthly income shouldn't be a problem, I've got the ring, and Kim and I talked about it, so the only thing I would need to worry about is where we would live after the wedding."

"Gotcha." An alarm sounded from Jason's desk. "Well, I guess it's time for our first class."

"Do you want me to take it, so that you can check in with Kat?"

"That would be great, thanks bro."

*Sunnydale, CA*

Lucius wandered away from Angel's mansion at night, wondering where the cursed vampire could have gotten too. It was by chance that Lucius had even stumbled upon him. He had been stalking Buffy at a distance, thinking of what the next course of action should be. Though he didn't expect his reappearance, he was mildly intrigued in how he could potentially manipulate the vampire into doing his bidding, both for his sake and the mayor's. However, when Lucius returned to forcibly enlist him, he was nowhere to be found. He was uttering curses under his breath for a moment, and then looked around, ready to disapparate.

"I don't think Angel's your best bet for revenge," a voice whispered into Lucius' ear. He looked to see who was there, but he found no one. It was strange, as it seemed to Lucius that the voice was being whispered right to him, however there was no one to be found. "Here," the voice whispered again, this time to the left of Lucius. He turned to see a tall, thin man with pale skin and slicked back black hair. He wore robes not all that different from Lucius, but they were green. "It's good to finally meet you, Lucius."

"Meet? Who are you, and why shouldn't I destroy you this instant?" He questioned.

"A fellow wizard of sorts," the man replied. "One much wiser than, say, Lord Voldemort."

"How DARE you say the Dark Lord's name!" Lucius was silent but menacing.

"How dare I?" The man grinned mischievously. "What exactly is Tom Riddle going to do to me? He's dead, remember."

"My patience is wearing thin," Lucius gritted through his teeth, and at this point pulling his wand from his cane, pointing it at the stranger.

"I mean not to grow your impatience, only to open your eyes to a new opportunity." Lucius slowly lowered his wand.

"And what opportunity is that?" He asked gruffly.

"There is a new slayer, Faith. She can be won to your side. All you have to do is push the right buttons."

"And why should I trust you? What's in it for you?" The man cackled.

"Let's just say I have a penchant for mischief." He turned to walk away, but Lucius called out for him again.

"Wait," he said in desperation. "Who are you? How do you know me and of my world?" The man hesitated for a moment, and then chose to turn around one last time to the blonde-haired death eater.

"I can divulge that at another time. For now, you may call me the Trickster." He snapped his fingers, and he vanished.

"The Trickster?" Lucius mumbled to himself. He contemplated what the man had said, particularly what he said about Faith. Then, he disapparated.

To be continued...

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think with a review!

- Googz333


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the ideas in my head. Saban, JK Rowling, and Joss Whedon own the characters and universes.

Whispers in the Dark – Chapter 5

*Kim and Kat's apartment*

Kim had been lounging around all day in her PJ's, taking the day off after their adventure in Sunnydale. Though she wanted to get right back to it, Kat convinced her instead to call a sub for her gymnastics classes. She spent the day unpacking all the things she bought in Sunnydale, doing the laundry, and then finally watching a couple TV shows that Kat had taped for her. When Kat finally walked in the door, Kim noticed the redness in her eyes, obvious that she had been crying for most of the day.

"Hard day?" Kim asked sympathetically.

"Yeah..." Kat spoke quietly.

"Want to talk about it?" Kim prodded gently, but Kat shook her head.

"No... I mean, it's the same thing again," she confessed guiltily. "I don't need to bore you again with how Adam and Tanya's deaths are so hard for me."

"You don't bore me with it Katherine," Kim affirmed. "I loved them too, you know? I still miss them, I know how you feel."

"I just wish that every time someone said something to remind me of them, I wouldn't just break down into a stupid mess!" She finally put down her bags and thrust herself into the chair across from the sofa where Kim had been sitting. She thought for a moment and let out a heavy sigh. "How are YOU doing?"

"Eh... I'm all right," Kim said, but it gave Kat the feeling she was a bit out of it, as if she were zoning out. Kat was about to ask another question, but then Kim continued. "Do you ever get the feeling someone is watching you? You know, not in the room with you, but from afar?"

"Well, there were all those times with Rita and Zedd, and the Machine Empire."

"Good point," Kim confessed. "Still... I don't know, it was just that while I was doing laundry, and then again as I sat down to watch the tv, I just felt really weird. Like someone was staring right at me."

"Do you think it's because of what you guys went through in Sunnydale?"

"Maybe... I'm still freaked out that maybe we didn't actually find the people who took apart Tommy's jeep in the first place. Maybe I'm just over-reacting."

"Well, for now maybe we can think that way. But if you keep feeling this way, Kim, we should check it out, see if someone really is creeping around. Until then, we can at least pray that it's just your imagination."

"Thanks Kat," Kim smiled warmly, with which the tall blonde reciprocated. The two women talked for a little longer, mainly about Kim's new wardrobe additions that she had purchased in Sunnydale, and typically much lighter conversation. It was nearing 10:00 PM, and Kim knew she would need to get some sleep to get ready for her gymnastics classes, so she got up from the couch and let out a big yawn. "I'll see you in the morning, Kat. I need to get some sleep."

"Sure thing," Kat replied, getting up from her comfy chair. "You know, you still need to fill me in on your discussion about the future with a certain Thomas Oliver." Kim grinned widely at her roommate.

"I can fill you in at lunch tomorrow," she said, winking at her.

*Sunnydale High School*

Buffy was part relieved, part scared-to-death, as she stared down one of her classmates. He had mutated himself into a vicious monster, both in appearance and in the depths of his soul, as his jealousy and fierce strength led him to murder his girlfriend, who he currently stood over in the spacious, dark, storage space that they currently found themselves in. Though Buffy didn't know what to do, she at least knew that Oz, who had been going through his monthly werewolf transformations, wasn't the cause of the random murder the night before. It was this creature. They started to fight, Buffy's enhanced strength barely able to handle the vicious slashes of the man's razor-sharp, extended, fingernails. His muscles and bulged, his veins popping out from his face, his shirt torn just slightly. It was as if he had become a demonic version of the Hulk. He caught Buffy with his knee right into her mid-section, and she flew into wall, breaking shelves that held anything from books to beakers. Blood was trickling down her back, as shards of glass had punctured her just enough. She tried to move but it was too late... the creature caught her by the neck. She struggled against his tight grip, but to no avail, feeling the sharp nails starting to dig into the skin of her neck. And then it happened... she was free. She spun to the hard floor. Before she could get up and see her savior, she heard gruesome, animal like tearing and grunting. _'Oz?' _She thought. However, as she turned to look, it was a man who was naked, tearing into the other man, and then finally snapping his neck. She looked to see a tattoo, one she was all too familiar with. He turned to see her, blood dripping from his lips.

"Angel?" She gasped, not knowing whether to hug him strongly or to run away in fear. But he growled, and then ran out of the room, like a caged beast who had just been let free. She followed him from a far distance. Her slayer training had helped her track vampires, so she was able to stay far enough behind to keep him from noticing her. They went through the woods, until her eyes landed on the mansion. She saw him go into the building, but she decided to wait, seeing that dawn was beginning to come. _'Did the night go by that quickly?'_ she thought. As daylight began to pierce through the night, she approached the mansion. She breached the threshold of the entrance, to see the tormented ensouled vampire whom she loved, writhing in agony on the floor and in his nakedness. She dared to keep inching closer, not knowing what to expect. He looked up, sensing her presence, and began to calm.

"Bu... Buffy?"

"Let me take care of you," she whispered, and went and found clothes and put them on him carefully. Though she knew he recognized her, he had never seen him fight like he had, or be in such agony, as she had just seen him in. What if he snapped? It was like Angel read her mind as he responded to her.

"Cuffs... in the closet. Lock me up." Buffy retrieved heavy, steel handcuffs, and fastened them to his wrists, and then fastened them to a pipe on the wall. As Buffy observed the vampire she loved, she noticed him go through a myriad of emotions. It was odd that he hadn't clothed himself before, but it seemed that without her presence, he would go completely berserk. Between his short moments of coherence were outbursts of grunts and growls, and then moments of extreme pain and agony. It was like he was remembering intense torture, which then turned him into an animal of rage and primal instinct. But when Buffy came near, the affect on him was undeniable. As she came close to him again, he reacted strongly, with deep growls and the appearance of bloodlust in his eyes, forcing the shackles on his wrists to tighten. Buffy gasped and stepped back, allowing this latest bout of fury to run its course. He finally stopped, gasping for air as he collapsed, his arms gone taut by his restraints. It took time, but he finally succumbed to exhaustion. Buffy stood and stared for a while, and then finally chose to leave, figuring she would return. Maybe, she could restore him to sanity long enough to understand what was going on.

She went home, where Joyce had all ready left for the day. She went to her room and, despite the fact that she had school that day, laid down on her bed and drifted to sleep from her battles and emotional strain. All she could think about was that Angel, the vampire she loved, had comeback from the dead. The question she now had was _'how?' _

Thanks for reading, don't forget to review!

- Googz333


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the ideas in my head. Saban, JK Rowling, and Joss Whedon own the characters and universes.

Whispers in the Dark – Chapter 6

*Yellow Frog Arts and Athletics Complex*

Tommy walked out of his office out to the mats to see what looked like 2 dozen kids finishing up their class with Jason. He had arrived as Jason's class was starting, and though he had wanted to show him something, he decided against interrupting Jason's class.

"Class dismissed," Jason announced to the class, and the kids all bowed to their sensei, who bowed in return. He looked over to Tommy, clad in his matching white gi, who was motioning him into his office. "What's up, bro?" Jason asked.

"I wanted to show you something," he replied cryptically. He went behind his desk, and pulled out a small, black jewelry box, and opened it up to reveal an engagement ring. The solitaire diamond, which was big enough to look special, but small enough to fit the petite woman Tommy intended to give it to, was a princess cut and sat in a cathedral setting. On the sides were designs of two unique birds.

"You know, I appreciate you wanting to give me pretty jewelry and all, but I don't swing that way," Jason deadpanned, to which Tommy rolled his eyes. Jason moved closer to see the ring, and realized the birds were a crane and a falcon, his and Kim's animal spirits. He then took the ring into his own hand and read what looked like an inscription on the inside, "_**May the power, and our love, protect you always.**_"

"Uhh... you guys want to tell me something?" Rocky uttered loudly, looking at the two men enamored with the diamond engagement ring.

"Yeah, Jason and I are getting hitched." This time it was Tommy who deadpanned, which led Jason to bust out into gut-splitting laughter.

"You're not serious, right?" Rocky said, actually starting to feel concerned.

"Of course not!" Jason clarified, his face red from his laughter. "Close the door, man." Rocky obliged. Rocky had been working with his former teammates off and on in their short history with the school. He often subbed in when either Tommy or Jason had other things going on, but he couldn't work full-time at this point as he was studying full-time down at USC, which was about 45 minutes from Angel Grove. However, the gas prices were much more cost effective than room and board, especially when his classroom observations and student-teaching were all in Angel Grove and Stone Canyon.

"So..." Rocky began to speak. "I'm assuming then that it's for Kim?"

"See for yourself," Tommy said, handing the ring to Rocky.

"Wow... this is awesome, dude," Rocky said, truly enthralled by the ring. "The crane, the falcon, the inscription. Man, she's going to love this!"

"I hope so," Tommy replied. "I actually bought it a few weeks ago, and I just picked it up yesterday at the jewelry store." He turned and looked at Jason with a sly smirk. "When you were grilling me about asking Kim yesterday, I tried not to give it away that I had all ready bought the ring."

"Man, who would have thought after everything you guys have been through, you'd end up getting married?" Rocky asked.

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Tommy said, but it was Jason who responded.

"What's she going to say, no?"

"Well, I mean she could," Tommy started. "Or something else could happen... I mean... anything could happen."

"You mean like you and Jason getting married instead?" This brought another round of laughter to the men, easing any of Tommy's anxiety.

*Angel Grove Surf Spot*

Kim and Kat took their lunch hour to go to the surf spot, which had formerly been the youth center. The girls had reminisced about their time with Ernie there over their salads and juices. However, it hadn't taken too long for Kat to change the subject to what she really wanted to talk to Kim about.

"So... any idea of when he's going to propose?" Kat asked. Kim laughed at her eagerness. It was amazing to think that only a few years ago it was Kat who was dating Tommy, and Kim was crying because of her 'catastrophic' decision to dump him.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Kim started, right before she put a huge hunk of lettuce and cucumber into her mouth.

"No idea?" Kat said, rolling her eyes. "You mean you two didn't talk about it at all while you were in Sunnydale. Kim finished chewing and countered.

"Well, I mean, we did talk about it a little. I mean, we know we want to get married, and honestly, we both want to just do it as soon as possible. We don't want to have a long engagement or anything, we know that marriage is where we're headed."

"So... what are you waiting on?" Kat genuinely asked.

"Well, knowing Tommy, he's probably making absolutely sure we're not going to sink financially, that we can find a house, that my engagement ring is absolutely perfect... and that's going to take him a LONG time." Kat chuckled at this. "Which is sweet, but annoying. I mean, I know I'm going to wear the ring for life, but I'm marrying him, not the ring!"

"At least he is really considering what you would like in the ring," Kat replied.

"Yeah, but sometimes he just over-thinks everything. Then again, I'm incredibly impatient."

"Any fears, or things that hold you back?"

"Umm..." Kim started to get nervous, which Kat could tell with her patented chewing of her bottom lip. "Is there something I should know about?"

"No, Kim," Kat reassured her with her sweet, soft, Australian voice. "I just feel as your friend, I need to ask you these questions. You know, make sure you're thinking everything through before you just lunge at everything."

"Thanks, Kat," Kim replied. "Thanks for bearing with me."

"Please," Kat dismissed the thought, her face straightening towards Kim. "After everything you've done for me, this is like a walk in the park." Kim smiled at her friend, but then her face scrunched up. "I'm sure he'll ask soon."

"No, it's not that," Kim replied. "I just..." Kim hesitated, looking around and then leaned over her salad on the table, looking at Kat with a very stern glance, beginning to half-whisper. "I feel it... someone watching us... watching me."

"So what you were sharing last night, about someone watching you from afar. You really meant it, didn't you?" Kim affirmed Kat's question with a nod.

"Since Sunnydale... actually, even before," she confessed, now easing back into her booth seat. "At first, I didn't think anything of it, but ever since that first night, when someone thrashed Tommy's car and knew who we were..." her voice trailed off. Kat reached across the table to put her hand on Kim's.

"Hey, we could make up an entire power rangers team with Tommy, Jason, and Rocky," Kat said, trying to cheer her pink predecessor up. "If someone is trying to mess with you, they're messing with us."

"Thanks, Kat."

"Any time, Kim. Now... back to you and Tommy..."

*Angel Grove Park*

It had been a couple weeks since Kim had gotten time with Kat at the Surf Spot, and though they were roommates, work had taken up a lot of their time. They came home tired and often spent most of their time just sleeping. Kim had just gotten home when Tommy had called, saying he needed to talk to her at the park. She was particularly nervous, wondering if maybe he was feeling the same thing she was... that he too felt that they were being watched. However, when she arrived at the park, she saw a recently built gazebo lit up with lights. It was evening, and she walked up to the lit construction, wondering if Tommy might be there. It oversaw the lake, which had memories for both her and her boyfriend.

As she stepped up to the main floor of the gazebo, she noticed a small table draped with a pretty table cloth, adorned with red, white, and pink candles, and in the center was a vase containing the finest roses of the same colors, but predominantly red. Below the vase was a bag of her favorite candy, dark chocolate truffles from the chocolatier shoppe that occupied downtown Angel Grove. _'Is this what I think...' _Before she could finish her thought, she heard someone step up to the main base of the gazebo, and she turned to see Tommy in a dapper white suit, complete with a black shirt and green tie, with a red rose fastened to the breast pocket of his shirt. "I think I'm a bit underdressed, Mr. Oliver," Kim teased playfully, to which Tommy only grinned.

"Well, I figure we can change that later, I got us a reservation to the Black Horse Restaurant at 7:30, hopefully we'll have enough time for you to get changed," Tommy replied.

"The Black Horse?" Kim gasped. "Tommy, that's like, the most expensive restaurant in the city!"

"Well, I think for an occasion like this, it's the only place that would do." At this, Kim smirked.

"And what exactly is this occasion?" She slyly asked. This prompted Tommy to take her hands into his, as he stared into her doe brown eyes.

"Kimberly, this place has meant a lot to us," he started. "I still remember the first day when I tried to ask you out. This was the site where I lost my powers. The site where we first started dating, where we shared our first kiss, the site where you decided to give up your powers to pursue your dreams, and the site where I once lost hope in our romance. This place, for us, represents the reality of life. It has its joys and its sorrows, its pains and its pleasures. I know that life now isn't a fairy tale, but it's a journey which has its extreme highs and extreme lows." At this point, he pulled a small jewelry box from his pocket, and opened it to reveal the sparkling diamond solitaire on the white gold band that was secured inside of the box. He knelt, as per tradition, and continued. "Kimberly Anne Hart, I want to experience that journey with you by my side, as my wife. Will you marry me?" Kim's facial expression seemingly signaled huge excitement, but as soon as Tommy saw her eyes light up at the ring, she turned away. Tommy slowly stood up, remembering a dance he asked her too, and a similar ploy she had used.

"Kimberly?" He asked her, more out of impatience than out of fear. He knew her answer, but he wanted to hear it from her lips.

She turned around, a couple stray tears running down her face, but due to the joy which was displayed by her wide smile. "Thomas James Oliver," she began sweetly. "I have been waiting SO long for you to officially ask me this!" At this point, she all out lunged at him, forcing him to stumble as he tried to balance his own weight while he now carried her's as well.

"So I take it that it's a yes?" He asked with a grin while he held her, now helping her feet make it back to the ground.

"You better believe it!" Kim shouted. She let go of her fiance so that she could take the ring from the box. Before she slipped it on her finger, she observed it carefully, seeing the engraved falcon and crane on the sides. Then she looked on the inside of it, and blushed at the inscription. "It's beautiful, Tommy."

"No... you're beautiful," he said with a grin. Kim smiled, but as she slipped on her ring she saw her watch read 7:15.

"Hey, if we want to get to the Black Horse in time, we'd better hurry to my apartment so I can get changed!"

"Sounds good to me," Tommy replied. Kim grabbed the candy and flowers from the table, and they began to walk. Kim was going to ask about the tablecloth and candles, but as they walked from the gazebo, Kim spied Rocky and Jason from the corner of her eyes, undoubtedly there to help clean up.

"So, Rocky and Jason helped set up, and Kat made sure I didn't eat before this so you could take me out?" Kim asked.

"Let me guess, you caught Rocky poking his head out?" Tommy joked. "As I was proposing, I saw him almost jump out of the bush." Kim laughed.

"No, I just saw Rocky and Jason make a beeline for the tablecloth and candles after we left. I was going to ask why we were just leaving stuff there, but when I saw them it made sense." The beaming couple continued to walk, Kim got into her car, Tommy into his, and he followed her to her and Kat's apartment. She quickly got ready, and came back down wearing a lovely strapless light pink full-length gown.

"Wow..." Tommy gasped, awe-struck by Kim's radiance.

"You like it?" Kim asked, putting her hand in his.

"You look stunning in it... not that you ever don't look beautiful. Is it new?"

"Yeah... last week I took an hour to shop and I fell in love with it. I justified it because I had a hunch that this day was coming soon." Tommy opened the door and helped her into his car, and they sped off to a night to remember.

*Angel's Mansion*

"Who's there?" The ensouled, tortured vampire asked, still chained in the shackles that had kept him captive for two weeks. Buffy appeared from the shadows, holding a large brown paper bag. She placed it on the ground, and dug into it and grabbed its contents; a large container of red liquid.

"Pig's blood," she muttered. She carefully slid it across the floor, and Angel opened it and began to suck it dry, draining it in a matter of seconds. He threw it to the ground, and looked at the slayer, demonic face showing, and then returning to its human, angelic one.

"Buffy," Angel said softly.

"What happened to you?" She demanded suddenly.

"Besides the fact that you ran me through with a sword?" He responded, but immediately regretted what he said. "Sorry. I... I haven't been myself." Buffy looked at him intently, not angry, not hurt, but honestly looking for answers. She didn't cringe or swell with anger when he quipped back, but she wondered earnestly how the vampire standing before her, the one she had loved so passionately, the one that she had to sacrifice, was still standing before her.

"I know," she replied. "I want to be patient... but I also want to know how you came back... none of this makes sense Angel. You were supposed to be tormented in a hell dimension for the rest of eternity, and though I'm thankful that you're back with us, I want to know how you got back here."

"We were wrong about Acathla," Angel replied.

"What?" Buffy asked alarmingly.

"When you stabbed me... when I went through the portal, I embraced myself to encounter hell. I thought I did. I don't remember much, aside from the torment. But it wasn't hell."

"How do you know?"

"Because of the one who tormented me. He... he wanted to use me for his own purposes."

"What did he want from you?" Buffy asked. "And how did he get a hold of you. I mean, we researched Acathla, and what it was supposed to do. How do you know that this guy wasn't part of the hell dimension that the portal was supposed to send you to?"

"I don't know. There's a lot that I can't remember. To be honest, the memories I do have are just starting to come back to me. There's a lot that's still fuzzy. But, I think that I'm finally in control of myself again... the rage that you saw before..."

"That was from the torment, right?"

"No... I thought it was... I thought I was acting out of being tortured for eternity. But my memories... I was being controlled by someone... and when they couldn't control me fully, they threw me out, threw me back into this world. That's how I came back."

"Do you know who it could be?" Buffy asked, now kneeling beside him, looking into his eyes. "A demon, vampire... could it be Spike getting revenge?"

"Definitely not Spike... he's too stupid to concoct something like this."

"Wow... now I definitely know you're back to normal." At this they both gave a small grin.

"I do remember one thing. I never heard his name, but he went by some sort of alias. He called himself the Trickster."

"The Trickster?" Buffy asked. "That sounds, well, lame."

"It might sound lame... but I never want to see him again."

"Hopefully you never will."

*Mayor Wilkins Office*

"So this 'Trickster' fellow said something about the new slayer being won to our side?" Mayor Wilkins asked.

"And why exactly can we trust someone named the Trickster?" Mr. Trick said unconvinced.

"I find it rather amusing that a vampire named Mr. Trick would get caught up in the name," Lucius quipped. Trick growled at Lucius, but he merely smiled back.

"Why are you here again?" The black-skinned vampire asked, staring into the eyes of the wizard. "I've always wondered what wizard's blood tasted like. Maybe I'll get my chance to get a taste tonight." Again, Lucius merely cackled at his assertion.

"Foolish demon," he retorted. "In a matter of seconds I could reign down flames to consume your body. I don't think you want to test me."

"Boys, let's hold on here for a minute," Wilkins interjected. "We're all on the same team here. I want to ascend, and Lucius wants vengeance. We can achieve both if we work together." Trick conceded, and Lucius smirked.

"Faith is the key to our success," Lucius re-iterated.

"Agreed," the Mayor replied.

To be continued...

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review!

- Googz333


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own ideas, and nothing more. Saban, JK Rowling, and Joss Whedon get the rest of the credit.

Chapter 7

*Yellow Frog Arts and Athletics Complex*

"... and then we had the best meal I think I've ever had," Kim said as she recounted her and Tommy's engagement evening in the staff lounge to Jason, Rocky, Kat, and of course her new fiance.

"Yeah, the swordfish was unreal, and your filet mignon was so good," Tommy added. "We'll have to find an excuse to go there again." He and Kim grinned at this.

"Then we capped the night with dancing, they had a live jazz band there so we attempted some swing dancing," Kim said with a sly smirk running across her face.

"What do you mean by 'attempted?'" Jason asked.

"Well, let's just say I need some lessons," Tommy sheepishly confessed. "I think I have a bruise on my hip from the time I collided with that other guy."

"You didn't?" Rocky asked with a snort.

"Wow... smooth moves Oliver," Jason joked, leaving Tommy to blush.

"Maybe we'll just have to have a double date one night, Jason and I can teach you," Kat added with her warm smile.

"That would be fun," Kim said.

"So have you figured out when the wedding is going to be?" Jason asked.

"Sometime in the spring, late May or early June," Tommy replied.

"Yikes, six months to get a wedding planned," Rocky said. "You think you'll be able to get it planned that quick?"

"We better!" Kim shouted.

From that moment on, life felt like a whirlwind that wouldn't stop until their wedding. Kim and Tommy started planning it, and with more and more students enrolling in their classes, they rarely felt they had time to just live. Two weeks after their engagement they got a chance to celebrate Christmas with both sides of the family. It was especially exciting for Kim, who got to see both her Mom and Dad, even though it was still a bit awkward from their divorce years ago. After the New Year, the couple spent day after day working the guest list, finding a church, finding the right pastor, wedding dress, and the list went on and on. Their encounter in Sunnydale seemed to fade more and more from their memories.

On Valentine's Day, which happened to be Kim's 21st birthday, Tommy took her out, giving her the vow that they would talk about anything but the wedding. It was a night where they finally had a chance to talk, which was somewhat of a miracle. Though it wasn't as nice as the night they got engaged, Tommy took her out to another one of her favorite restaurants. The atmosphere was nice, but it wasn't the type of place to wear formalwear. The appeal was less fancy, and more about just having a quaint place to talk and connect.

"How are you holding up?" He asked her.

"Honestly... I never thought planning a wedding would be this hard," she confessed. "When I was younger, I always dreamed about the day, walking down the aisle to my future husband. I never expected everything leading up to it to be this involved."

"Yeah," Tommy replied. "I feel like this is taking more work than our actual jobs."

"It almost makes me want to get eloped instead," Kim joked.

"Hey, Vegas isn't that far away," Tommy replied.

"I said almost." They chuckled a bit, Tommy was thankful that in spite of all the stress, they still managed to find joy.

"How has life been aside from the wedding?" Tommy asked. "I feel like I don't know much about what's going on, except for that and work, that is."

"Honestly, not much," she confessed. "I think one of the things is talking with Kat, and trying to help her move past everything."

"You mean with Tanya and Adam?"

"Not just that. I think when Voldemort tortured her, there was a lot of emotional scarring that she never dealt with. We just assumed it was losing her friends. But we had a really good conversation about it. I think she's really turning around."

"That's great to hear... I'm really glad that you girls can help one another out."

"Yeah... just to think I hated her for so long because I thought she was stealing you from me," Kim mentioned. "Instead, she's become my closest friend... aside from you."

"She gonna be the maid of honor?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah... living with her has been amazing. In spite of all the difficulties, we've really gotten to see the best and worst of each other, and come out loving one another more. As much as I love Aisha and Trini, Kat is my girl."

"Hopefully she'll be planning her own wedding by then," Tommy said. "Jason finally bought a ring."

"It's about time!" They continued to talk, as Tommy shared how his house hunting was going, as well as looking into taking part-time classes at Angel Grove Community College. For some reason, he was very enamored with the idea of taking Geology classes, something to do with studying the dinosaurs. He thought maybe it was due to their old dinozords. Either way, their meals and drinks came and passed, and it was time for Tommy to drive Kim home.

It was late when Kim got in, and Kat had all ready gone to sleep. Kim got ready for bed and went into her bedroom, and quickly drifted off to sleep. As she slept she began to dream, particularly about a wedding. Her wedding. Tommy was there at the altar, standing beside Jason, Rocky, and Zack. Kim of course was by Kat, Aisha, and Trini. As they began to state their vows, a green beam of light shot through Tommy's body, leaving him in a pile of ash. Kim was mortified, but before she could scream, a beam was shot at her as well. However, this beam did not destroy her. Instead, it suspended her in time. While she could see the animated reactions of everyone, it was as if only she could interact. Everyone was frozen. That was when she saw him.

His appearance was not unlike Severus Snape, except younger. His longer, black, slicked back hair, pale skin, green robes, and his snake-like eyes which pierced through her. He had a scepter in his hand, and he extended it to touch her heart. Though she wanted to move, she could not. He inched it closer to her, and suddenly he sank it into her. But she did not die, blood did not pour from her. Instead, it was as if her mind was being taken over. Dark thoughts filled her, ones that horrified her. Suddenly, time was back to normal, and as she looked down at her own body, she no longer saw a wedding dress, but her old pink ranger costume. She saw her friends, and starting with Kat, began to slaughter them with the same scepter that the man used to control her.

"NO!" She awoke with terror, covered in sweat, heart pounding within her. She turned on the light, feeling the presence of something in her room. But she saw nothing. Suddenly, the door opened, Kat entering the threshold of Kim's room.

"Is everything ok?" Kat asked.

"I... had... a nightmare," Kim said, gasping between words.

"What was it?"

"It was the wedding," Kim started to explain. "We were exchanging our vows, and then suddenly, a wizard vaporized Tommy. Then he puts me under his control, and I killed the rest of you." As she recounted the dream, she began to tear up.

"Kim... it was just a dream," Kat tried to reassure her.

"Kat... it felt so real. This man... he plunged this thing into my chest... I could feel it. I could feel the darkness entering my body."

"Do you think it has anything to do with the feeling of being watched?" Kat asked.

"Maybe... I just... I've never felt this vulnerable."

"Maybe it's just because of all the stress of the wedding? I mean, you told me last week that you hadn't felt that being watched feeling for months. Maybe with everything all your fears are combining, and it just resulted in one big nightmare."

"Maybe... I just wish I knew why I felt this way."

"Have you told Tommy?"

"Briefly... he's been keeping up a little on events in Sunnydale, making sure nothing followed us up here."

"So, if something is prowling around, we'll be ready for it."

"I hope so. Sorry I woke you Kat."

"It's ok... we're friends, I want to make sure you're doing ok. You have done the same for me over and over again."

"Thanks." Kat got up and walked out of the room. Kim continued to sit on her bed, and finally got up. Before she went to turn off the light, she took one last gander outside her window. She saw nothing but a few lights on outside. She shrugged her shoulders, turned off the light, and tried to fall asleep, praying that she was only dreaming.

To be continued...

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review!

- Googz333


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, Saban, Joss Whedon, and JK Rowling are the masterminds. I just have ideas and a laptop.

A/N: Sorry it has taken so long to post these, editing and such has been tough with work piling up. Thanks for your patience, and a special thanks to Ghostwriter, who has continually encouraged and given feedback, in spite of how long everything takes to post! I hope you all continue to enjoy the story, and feel free to ask questions along the way... I'm kind of mixing four universes together (Yes, FOUR), culminating in a final act that I'm currently writing... muahahaha.

Chapter 8

*Sunnydale High School – Library*

It was the middle of March, and though Senior Year was beginning to wrap up, Buffy and the rest of the scoobies were continuing to meet, as the amount of 'peculiar things' seemed to mount by the day. Buffy finally decided she needed to bring up this Trickster fellow that Angel had told her about. Though she didn't want to reveal it was Angel who knew about him, considering the strained relationship he had with everyone else. What would Giles, Xander, or the others think if they found out he was still alive. "Good morning Buffy," Giles said as she walked through the doors of the library, but she walked up towards him with a very clear sense of purpose.

"Giles, I need to know who the Trickster is," she replied.

"The Trickster?" Giles asked. "Who or what on earth is it, and how did you hear about it?"

"I... um, got it off a vamp while patrolling last night," she half-lied. She still hadn't told her the gang about Angel being back. "Seemed like it could be a major big bad. Wanted to start doing some research."

"Research?" Willow asked as she, Oz, and Xander walked through the doors.

"Count us in!" Xander affirmed.

"What are we researching?" Oz asked.

"Guy who goes by the name 'Trickster,'" Buffy responded.

"Trickster?" Xander asked. "What kind of name is that?"

"As ridiculous as it might sound, this is important," Buffy replied.

"Any ideas of where to start looking?" Willow asked. Buffy waited, wondering if she should divulge all of what she knew, or if she should let them have a little more time before she dropped the Angel bomb on them.

"Believe it or not, I think we need to look at Acathla," she answered. "I was near there last night, and they seemed to be interested in it."

"Vampires interested in a deactivated demon?" Giles questioned.

"I'm just telling you what I heard and where I was," Buffy fibbed again.

"All right, Xander and Oz, you guys find the book on Acathla, I'll look pull up some files on the computer and see if we can figure anything out on this guy," Willow replied.

As they began to move, the doors opened again to reveal a man that none of them had ever met before, dressed in a black suit, his blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, and walked with a very distinct black cane.

"Can I help you?" Giles asked as the man approached.

"Yes, I'm looking for Faith Lehane," the man replied.

"She's not here, can I ask why you're looking for her?" Buffy asked with suspicion.

"You must be Buffy, I've heard much about you," the man replied. "My name is Lucius, I'm with the watcher's council and am now her official watcher."

"Come again?" Buffy asked.

"I wasn't informed of a new watcher coming to town," Giles replied.

"The watcher's council felt it was unnecessary to send you any notification," Malfoy replied coolly. "Now... where's Faith?" Just as he asked, Faith happened to walk into the library, though she didn't seem very lively.

"Sorry I'm late, had a long night patro..." Faith said as she walked through the doors of the library, stopping in her tracks when she saw the long-blonde haired man standing alongside Buffy and Giles, while the others were hard at work doing research. "Who are you?"

"I," Lucius began, planting his patented black cane down on the floor as he walked towards her. "am your new watcher."

"New watcher?" Faith asked.

"New watcher," the rest of the scoobies echoed.

"What's wrong, Giles isn't enough for the two of us?"

"My dear," Lucius grinned. "It has nothing to do with that. The council just feels that you need more specialized training, training that you couldn't get from an old-fashioned librarian," he sneered. Giles merely looked down.

"I'm sorry, but last time I checked, this was his domain, not yours," Buffy said, anger starting to flare.

"My apologies, I mean nothing other than I was tasked to suit Faith's abilities."

"And what are you going to do that Giles can't?" Faith questioned. "I'm stronger, faster, and more powerful than you could ever dream. All you've got is that stupid walking stick." Lucius merely grinned at her assertion.

"Actually, I can show you things that you wouldn't dare dream of," he replied. "Meet me after your classes, and I'll show you what I mean." Faith was puzzled, but chose not to argue, and merely left, Lucius following suit, receiving a glare from both Buffy and Giles. As he left, Buffy turned to Giles.

"What do we do?" Buffy asked.

"First things first, I'm calling the council to make sure he's actually a watcher," Giles said. As Giles went to the phone, Buffy sat down at the table with Oz, Xander, and Willow, who were clearly frustrated by their lack of progress. Granted, it hadn't been too long since they started looking, but then again, Willow was normally a whiz at this stuff.

"Nothing?" Buffy asked.

"Not really... I've got something on vengeance demons though, apparently they like to play tricks on people," Xander answered. "Certainly wouldn't want to cross their paths."

"I can't get through," Giles said from the other room. He re-entered the main part of the library, clearly frustrated. "I don't understand, normally it's fairly easy to get in contact with the council, but for some reason their lines are completely down."

"I don't like this," Oz said.

"Me neither," Xander confirmed.

"Well then, maybe it's time for spyage," Buffy said. "I'll follow him at a distance, see if I can figure out who this guy is."

"Just be careful," Giles said.

"I will." She wandered out the library and looked to find the mysterious Lucius, but as she continued to search, she was more and more confident that she was not going to find him. Classes ended, and madness ensued with students getting out and running toward the exits to leave for the day. As she looked and looked, neither Lucius nor Faith were anywhere to be found. She went outside of the school grounds, scouring the perimeter, but still saw nothing.

Meanwhile, Faith had seen the mysterious new watcher, who motioned her to follow him. Not much was said between them, other than that a brief question between them, to which Lucius merely told her to wait, and that he would explain everything. They approached the edge of the wood, and then Lucius stopped, Faith also halting, but confused by this. "Why are we stopping?" She asked.

"To show you what I want to show, I must wait for the sun to go down," Lucius stated firmly.

"Why should I trust you?" Faith asked, suddenly very wary of her companion. However, Lucius merely shot her a sly grin.

"You must have 'Faith,'" he quipped. "Things aren't as they seem, my dear."

"What do you mean?"

"There are multiple reasons why the council sent me, one of which was to make sure you were trained. However, they also wanted me to make sure that Rupert and Buffy were actually on our side. I stumbled onto something a few nights ago, and I think you'd want to see it as well."

"You mean, you think B and Giles are actually on the take with some demon?"

"I don't know about on the 'take,' but I think it's clear that Miss Summers is hiding something from you... from us that is." They waited for a few hours, mostly in silence, until the sun began to set. "Let's go."

Back at the school, Buffy burst through the doors while the scoobies continued to find nothing on this 'Trickster.' She looked to her friends, only to see their blank stares, knowing that they still hadn't found anything.

"Did you find Faith or the new watcher?" Willow asked.

"Nowhere to be found," Buffy replied.

"We might want to find them, and fast," Giles said, finally emerging from his small office behind the check-out counter. "I just got off the phone with the Watcher's Council. They sent no one here, certainly no one by the name of Lucius."

"What do you think Lucius wants with her?" Xander asked.

"I don't know," Buffy replied.

"Wait... Buffy, you mentioned something about Acathla earlier," Giles started. "Maybe he's after it?"

"Maybe... or maybe he's after Ang..." Buffy realized she had just been caught... her secret was no longer safe from a group of people who were deeply hurt and angry at her former lover.

"Angel?" Xander asked, suddenly getting up from his chair and walking over towards the slayer. "What about Angel?"

"He's alive... well, as alive as a vampire can be," Buffy confessed. "That's why I asked about Acathla... it spit him out. He was supposed to be sent to a hell dimension, and instead he was confronted by someone named the 'Trickster.'"

"Were you going to tell us?" Giles asked, his tone indicating his waffling between anger, hurt, and mistrust.

"Eventually..." Buffy said, ashamed that she had been lying to them.

"Look, I don't like the fact that Buffy lied to us, but we need to get over it, otherwise Faith AND Angel could be in a lot of trouble," Willow said as she and Oz got up out of their chairs. "We need to go and make sure they end up ok."

"Yeah... what if Lucius is trying to get Angel to have is happy moment again, this time with Faith," Xander said.

"That's not going to happen," Buffy argued.

"How do you know?" Xander argued back.

"Because Faith isn't me!" She said defiantly. "Look, Xander. We need to go to them for Faith's sake and for Angel's sake."

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly. "But for the record, if he so much as looks at me funny, I'm staking him."

"You guys stay here," Buffy said to Giles, Willow, and Oz, ignoring Xander's comment. "We'll go find them." Indicating that she would bring Xander with her. They abruptly left, leaving the library silent as they left it. They rushed towards the edge of the woods outside of the school, hoping that they hadn't made it yet to Angel's new home. However, though they had not yet arrived, Faith and Lucius had all ready made their way to the ensouled vampire's domain.

"I don't get it... Buffy said he was dead," Faith said.

"Of course she did... that's why the council sent me," Lucius lied. "We expected that they were hiding something from us. And from you."

"Should've figured... someone that wound up, afraid to be caught. All for some undead boy toy. Guess I should slay him, and then confront her." Lucius grinned at her assertion, but turned his head so she wouldn't see it.

"I think that would be most beneficial," Lucius agreed. They entered together seeing the chains left on a part of the wall, but no sign of the vampire himself. "He was chained here before... I wonder where he could be?"

"You know, if you were really a watcher," a voice said behind them. They turned to see Angel, clad in a black button down shirt and black pants. "You would know that vampires have pretty decent hearing."

"Faith, kill him," Lucius ordered.

"So... you're the big bad Angel, the one that tore Buffy apart," Faith taunted, walking closer to him.

"I'm different, and I don't want to hurt you," Angel replied.

"Oh... you won't hurt me, but I'll hurt you," she said, and then struck Angel in the temple with her elbow. Immediately, his face shifted into his demonic face, and then blocked her next strike, and countered with a kick to the mid-section, sending the young slayer to the ground. However, she cackled as she picked herself up from the ground. "You've got some spunk, I like that." She charged at him, but he side-stepped her. However, she used her momentum to kick-off the wall and spun into a roundhouse kick, which caught Angel on his cheekbone. He staggered backwards, giving Faith the opportunity to land some hard punches and elbows, ultimately knocking him to the floor. "Man... what did B ever see in you?" Faith asked. "You're much weaker than I expected. Oh well, guess I'll have to just end your misery." She grabbed a stake, but before she could plunge it into his chest, a kick to her face sent her backwards, landing with a thud on the floor.

"Get away from him," Buffy said sternly. She turned to see Lucius bolting, and motioned Xander to follow him, who obliged.

"Here to save the day, B?" Faith taunted. "Here to save your precious boy toy?"

"It's not like that, Faith."

"Oh yeah? Why'd you keep him a secret then? Why did you, and Xander, and Giles keep me in the dark?"

"I kept everyone in the dark!" Buffy shouted. "No one knew but me."

"Sure," Faith said skeptically. "It burns you that there's another slayer, doesn't it? I'm taking everything from you, and you can't stand it, can you B?"

"The only thing that burns me, F, is that you were the one who is the slayer, and not someone who's actually worthy of that title." The girls began to battle, Angel still lying on the ground, woozy from the shots he took from Faith. Outside, Xander ran after Lucius, but what was odd was that when Xander saw him, he had stopped.

"Look, I don't know who you really are, or what you're up to, but you're going to lose pal," Xander said.

"You have no idea what you're up against," Lucius said, choosing at this point to turn and face his pursuer. "You think a couple of teenaged slayers are going to stop what's coming to you?" Lucius paused, and smirked at the young man. "You see, I'm merely here to have my revenge, but the one who I've joined forces with for a time... well, you don't stand a chance."

"And who is that?" Xander questioned.

"Why... your own Mayor. But you don't have to worry about that, because you're not going to be around when he ascends."

"What do you mean, ascends? And why won't I be around?" He asked defensively, getting into a fighting stance.

"Because... you're going to be working for me," Lucius said, slowly drawing his wand.

"Fat chance."

"Oh... I think you'll see things from my perspective rather shortly. It's funny... your watcher and your best friend dabble in magic... they have no idea what it's like to have it coarse through their veins... you see, if I wanted, you wall would be dead within the next minute. Instead, I merely wish to use you."

"Like I said, fat chan..."

"_**IMPERIO!"**_ Lucius flicked his wand, and the beam struck Xander. "My... dear boy. You shall go to the town of Angel Grove... and you shall capture one Kimberly Hart and bring her to me."

"Consider it done," Xander responded, his eyes glazed over.

To Be continued...

Xander is under the control of Lucius, Faith is losing control, the scoobies are against each other, and the plans of the menacing Mayor are still yet to unfold! And what of this Trickster? Who is he? And what of our former rangers? Stay tuned, as all will be revealed as Whispers in the Dark continues!

Thanks for reading, please remember to review! :-) (Constructive feedback is also very welcomed)

- Googz333


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I own nothing but ideas, Saban, JK Rowling, and Joss Whedon on the other hand...

Thanks for all who have read so far!

Whispers in the Dark - Chapter 9

Angel had begun to stir from this latest bout of unconsciousness, awaking to the slayers Buffy and Faith fighting each other, exchanging brutal blows until they finally knocked each other down. They began to get up, when Angel heard others walk into the mansion.

"That's enough!" Giles yelled at the girls. Angel looked towards Buffy's watcher, locking eyes with him for a mere moment. It was enough to know that he was not a welcome sight. Angel looked beyond him to see Oz, Willow, and Cordelia. "Where's Xander?"

"He was following Lucius," Buffy said, gasping for air.

"Why?" Faith asked. "It's true isn't it? You're protecting you're boy toy, and you're all in on it!"

"First off, he's not my boy toy," Buffy denied vehemently. "Second..."

"We don't approve of this," Giles interjected.

"Look," Angel finally spoke up. "it's not wha..."

"I honestly don't give a damn about anything you're about to say," Giles interrupted sternly, his gaze burning holes into him. "Buffy, you were foolish to keep us in the dark on this." She tried to think of something to say in response, but she knew he was right, despite his extreme prejudice. "Oz, Cordelia, go find Xander, make sure he's ok."

"Why would he be in danger?" Faith asked, a hint of anger penetrating her words. "He's after my new watche..."

"He wasn't your watcher!" Buffy exploded. "He tricked you! He's not part of the watcher's council! You can't trust him!"

"Apparently I can't trust you either," Faith sneered.

"Look, you want to judge me for the secrets I keep, fine," Buffy reasoned. "But, for the record, you, nor the rest of you have any idea what's going on with Angel, so instead of jumping to conclusions, I think it'd be nice for you all to trust the slayer that's gotten us through quite a few predicaments. Not to mention, I'm the same girl who stabbed him with a sword and sent him to a supposed hell dimension. So how about showing a little bit of trust here."

"Buffy, this man is a vampire, and cannot be trusted," Giles replied.

"Would you say that if he hadn't killed Jenny?" Buffy retorted, but realized she went over the edge as soon as she said it. She saw the expression on her watcher's face fade, knowing she just hit him with a proverbial low blow. He cared so much about Jenny, that when Angelus had killed her, it nearly drove him mad. He lifted his head to respond, when Oz, Cordy, and Willow returned into the mansion. "Where's Xander?"

"Why don't you tell us?" Cordy asked in an unforgiving tone.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.

"Xander's no where to be found," Oz explained. "We even tried to track his footprints, but we got nothing."

"Yeah, who do we have to thank for losing my boyfriend?" Cordy asked sarcastically. "Oh, that's right. The blonde bimbo who sacrificed mine for her own, who happens to be a blood-thirsty psychopath."

"You wanna go?" Buffy looked sternly at Cordy, but it was Angel who tried to interject.

"Look, I know my opinion isn't the most wanted or valued right now, but while we fight and argue, that blonde-haired guy is out there. AND, Faith is no longer here. So why don't we put our personal problems on hold, and figure out what the hell is going on."

"As much as it pains me, I agree," Giles spoke softly. "We need to find Faith before Lucius can find her again, and we need to find Lucius so we can find Xander."

"Ok," Buffy said uneasily. "Giles, I need you to get back on the line with the Watcher's Council and see if we can find any more info on this Lucius guy. I'll go looking for Faith. The rest of you, find Xander. We'll settle the rest of this later." As they broke up, Faith was all ready a good half-mile or so away from the mansion. She found her way to the edge of the wood, and wandered around until she made her way back to her motel room. She entered the room, only to find a well dressed man in standing in the middle of it. She pulled her stake, but he turned around with a smile, a sense of warmth and calm that she hadn't sensed in ages.

"It's ok... I'm not here to hurt you," the man said.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm Mayor Wilkins," he replied. "I hear you have quite the talent."

"From who?" She asked suspiciously.

"I believe you met my consultant Lucius earlier," he mentioned.

"You mean the fake watcher? You sent him?"

"He was telling you the truth for the most part. The watcher part, not so much. We felt it would be the only way to get you to go with him to see what was really going on."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"What I mean, is that, I've had my eye on you for a long time, Faith. You have great potential, and I want you to realize that potential. But to do that, you need someone to care for you. And those people, Ms. Summers and her cohorts... well, they've shown what they're all about. Lies and deception. They kept you in the dark about one of the greatest horrors Sunnydale, heck, the world, has ever seen. Can you imagine if Buffy allowed Angel another moment of happiness. Let's just say, it wouldn't be a very wholesome picture."

"And you're all about wholesome?"

"Well, to the best of my ability," he replied. "I mean, I am a politician, so there has to be something wrong with me, right?" He smiled. "But when it comes to cleanliness, language... well, I'm your man."

"What aren't you telling me?" She asked.

"You really are a smart cookie, aren't you?" He asked, again with a very warm smile. "I want you to lead my army. You see, when graduation comes, I am going to ascend. It's this big ritual, but long story short, I made a deal with a bunch of demons back in the day. In sparing my life, I told them that one of them could ascend using me. It would allow me to rule Sunnydale forever. But to do it, I need your help. I need your leadership."

"And if I refuse?"

"Well, it's either the devil you know, or the devils you don't."

"No thanks," she replied, and ran out the door. Wilkins stood still, and remained calm as she walked out on him.

"Well... I guess it's going to be the hard way," he said to himself.

As Faith wandered around town, she started to ponder the Mayor's proposal. Was what he was offering that much different from Buffy? Sure, he made a deal with a demon, but Buffy was in love with one. Suddenly, she was torn out of her thoughts.

"Faith!" Buffy screamed as she ran after her.

"What do you want Buffy?" She asked. "

"Look, Faith... I'm sorry I didn't bring you in about Angel," she said. "I... I didn't know what to do."

"It's five by five, B," Faith said, but clearly not meaning it.

"I'm serious, Faith," she replied. But before she could explain further, vampires began surround them. "Great... of all the times you guys pick to drop in." The two slayers got into fighting stances, and one by one dusted them all. However, as Buffy dusted her last vampire, she noticed a man running behind Faith. Faith noticed him, and kicked him as he tried to run by her. She took a stake in her hand, and as he pleaded, Faith plunged the stake into his heart. Except he didn't turn to ash. In fact, blood began to pour from his chest, and then it began to drip from his mouth. Buffy ran over to see that the man was Deputy Mayor Finch. "Oh my gosh... Faith."

"It's ok..."

"It's not ok! You killed a man!" Faith's face showed shock, she couldn't believe what had just happened. However, before they could understand the full magnitude of what had just happened, they heard police sirens coming towards them.

"We've gotta bail!"

"Faith, wait!" But before she could grab hold of her fellow slayer, Faith was gone. Buffy looked around and realized it would be fruitless to remain behind and try to explain the situation, so she too took off, disturbed by what had happened.

*Yellow Frog Arts and Athletics Complex*

"Can I help you?" Rocky asked, noticing a young man walking close towards him.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Kimberly Hart, I'm a friend of hers from Sunnydale."

"Oh yeah, she told us all about your adventures there," Rocky grinned. "Name?"

"Xander Harris. Is she here?"

"Let me check... she might be still be out doing some wedding planning, I know she was taking the morning off to do that. You know that she and Tommy got engaged recently?" Xander showed no emotion as he simply answered him.

"No idea."

Rocky shrugged his shoulders at his lack of response, and chocked it up to an early morning drive to see them. He went and looked in the staff room, and there sat Kim with Tommy and Kat.

"Hey Rocky, we were just looking at possible swatches for bridesmaid dresses and groomsmen vests, want to put your input in?" Kim asked.

"Ha, I'd love to, but I actually need to interrupt for a second," he started. "This guy, Xander Harris from Sunnydale, he's here to see you."

"Xander?" Tommy asked. "Wonder why he's here?" Before Rocky could answer back, he felt a sharp pain in his back, and after a grimace, a strike to the head sent him spiraling down to the floor, revealing Xander with a pistol in his hand, aiming it at Tommy.

"Kim, you need to come with me, other wise your fiance gets a bullet in the head," Xander said calmly.

"Xander, what's gotten into you?" Tommy asked. Before anything else could be said he raised the gun, pointing it to the ceiling, and fired it, making Tommy, Kim, and Kat cower from the sound of it.

"I'm not playing around! Kim's gotta come with me, or else!"

"It's ok, Tommy," Kim said, easing his arm away from her as he had held her. As she took a couple of steps forward, it was Rocky who surprised everyone by kicking the gun from Xander's hand, and then Kim ran at him and tackled him, throwing her whole body into him. He was able to force her off him, but as he got up, Tommy landed a straight kick to his temple, which sent him into the wall, which caused him to fall into unconsciousness.

"What the heck happened?" Kat asked, coming over to the group. "Was he always like that?"

"No," Tommy answered. "When we were there, he was one of the guys helping us out."

"Is everything ok?" Jason asked, rushing into the room. "I heard a gunshot, and..." his voice trailed off when he saw the gun on the floor, and then looked over to the young man that was now sprawled out on the floor. "What the..."

"His name is Xander... he's from Sunnydale," Kim explained. "And no, we didn't expect this from him."

"What did he want?" Jason asked.

"Kim," Tommy said numbly.

"I don't understand... why would he want me?" Kim asked.

"Let's ask and find out," Tommy replied. "Rocko, can you grab me a pitcher of water?"

"Sure thing, boss." Rocky strolled out of the room, only to return immediately with a a pail filled to the brim with liquid. Tommy motioned Kim to shut the door behind them, while Rocky handed the pail to him. He poured it onto Xander's face, which caused him to wake and flail, only to be restrained by Jason and Kat.

"What's going on... what's happening!"

"You attacked us, that's what happened!" Tommy shouted. "Why did you come here? Why did you want to take Kim?"

"I... Fabio?" Xander said, somewhat humorously, but then shook his head. "Oh my gosh... Tommy... I'm so sorry. Is everyone ok?"

"We're fine..." Tommy said. "But what are you doing here. Why did you pull a gun on us?"

"I... um... there was this guy. He... well, I don't know the best way to explain it... but he pulled a wand on me."

"Wait... a wand?" Kat asked. "Like a magical wand?"

"Something like that," he replied. "The guy cast a spell, and all of a sudden I had no control."

"The Imperius Curse," Jason muttered.

"Come again?" Rocky asked, which got him looks from his fellow rangers.

"It's a spell that causes it's victim to be compromised by the castor," Tommy answered.

"Who cast the spell?" Kim asked.

"Long, blonde hair, goes by the name Lucius," Xander answered. While Rocky could only give a puzzled look at what Xander shared, the others sat or stood in shock.

"Malfoy," Kim finally whispered.

"So what do we do?" Rocky asked.

"We line up some subs for the school, because we need to go to Sunnydale," Tommy said. "All of us, we need to find out what's going on. Jason, can you send an owl, we need to get in contact with Harry, he's going to want to know about this."

"On it," Jason said.

"Wait... why is this so big?" Rocky asked. "I mean, not to sound crass, but who is this guy, anyway?"

"Lucius Malfoy, one of Voldemort's death eaters," Kat said. "He's one of the most dangerous wizards alive, and apparently, he's after Kim."

"Then we need to take the fight to him... because I refuse to lose Kim to him," Tommy said, looking at his future bride. "I refuse to let him take another ranger down, especially not my bride to be."

To Be Continued...

Thanks for reading, don't forget to review!

- Googz333


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I own nothing but ideas. Saban, JK Rowling, and Joss Whedon on the otherhand

Whispers in the Dark - Chapter 10

It had been over six months since Tommy and Kim had crossed the city limits of Sunnydale, and while the first time they visited was with the purpose of seeing old friends, this trip felt much more like their trip to London. One filled with the purpose of a mission. They drove separately from the rest of the pack, Rocky, Kat, and Xander all stuffed in Jason's car. They packed up for a long time, knowing that the last time they faced off with a wizard that it was much longer than any of them anticipated. They were able to get permanent subs lined up for the school, and Tommy and Jason came up with a plan to touch base with their teachers to find out about the students. Rocky was able to gain a leave of absence, and would be able to finish his classes up either with make-ups or in the summer. Either way, there were perks when you were publicly known as a former power ranger. Other wise, both the business and Rocky's schooling could be in jeopardy. Nevertheless, they all knew that the life of the future Mrs. Oliver was far more important.

It was at this point that Tommy had reflected back on his time with Kim as they were engaged. A lot of it was spent on details for the wedding, but he also thought a lot about their time with their families, sharing about their relationship and how it had matured. They were so thankful for the opportunity to be honest about all their former adventures as rangers, and how that had played a big role in their budding romance both times. However, as he thought about the most joyous times, he also reflected back on what he had shared with Kim on the night he proposed. '_This place, for us, represents the reality of life. It has its joys and its sorrows, i__ts pains and its pleasures.' _ He had looked forward to the pleasures of marriage with Kim, both obvious and not. But he hadn't considered he would have to confront the pains so soon. _'What if...' _ Tommy shook his head, refusing to think that Lucius would actually succeed in kidnapping Kim.

"You seem pretty shaken... are you ok?" Kim asked.

"I just want to make sure that you're safe, that's all," Tommy replied. Kim knew the look on Tommy's face all too well. It was the face that showed his determination and heart, one where his mind was set on leading his team to achieve its goal.

"Everything is going to be ok, Tommy," Kim reassured him. "We've handled death eaters worse than Lucius."

"Not without our old powers," Tommy reminded her. "Do you think he's the reason why you've felt watched all this time?"

"I don't know... I mean, I keep asking why he didn't just come after me himself?"

"Maybe to keep himself concealed... maybe he didn't want to alert Harry and the aurors to where he would be?

"Still... I don't know if it really was him... or maybe it was, and he's got some crazy plan."

"Hopefully the plan is about to blow up in his face," Tommy stated firmly. As he drove, he noticed Sunnydale High School, and went by the side parking lot, and there Jason and Tommy parked, the five rangers and Xander departing from their vehicles.

*Sunnydale High School – Library*

"Any luck with getting through to Faith?" Giles asked sleepily, he seemed to be as sleepless as the rest of the scoobies.

"Only bad luck," Buffy answered, ending with a yawn. "Last time I saw her, we were on the run from the cops."

"The cops?" Cordelia asked. "Are they suddenly all vampires now?"

"No... Faith staked a non-vampire... killed him," Buffy replied.

"Oh my..." Willow said, shocked by this news.

"Do we know who it is?" Giles asked.

"Deputy Mayor Finch," Buffy replied simply. "I tried to keep Faith there, but she bolted, and I knew there was nothing I could do, so I split up from her."

"Oh my gosh... I saw the story in the Friday paper, and they had something about him on TV yesterday," Willow said. "Faith did that?"

"Yeah..." Buffy said, her voice trailing off.

"You could have told them the truth, Buffy!" Giles exploded, causing the others to get out of their seats. "You could have prevented all of this! If you had told us about Angel, none of this would have happened!" Buffy didn't want to retaliate... instead she had a look that signaled she was about to cry.

"No, she couldn't have," Xander interrupted, the rangers standing behind him.

"Xander?" Cordelia was shocked to see him, as was everyone else.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked, observing Tommy and Kim, along with the three strangers with them.

"This has been a partial set up from the start," Tommy said. "Lucius isn't a watcher... he's a wizard, a former death eater under Lord Voldemort."

"Death eater?" Willow asked.

"Voldemort?" Oz asked.

"Long story," Kim replied.

"Dark wizards in Sunnydale?" Giles asked. "What's he after?"

"Revenge," Kim said. "He placed Xander under a curse to kidnap me. We think he was partially in charge of tearing Tommy's car apart when we were here last time."

"I also know he's in league with the mayor, apparently he's not as innocent and friendly as we think," Xander said.

"The Deputy Mayor... you don't think..." Giles started.

"He sent him with the vampires," Buffy realized. "It was a set up, it had to be."

"But why?" Jason piped up, joining the conversation. "Why would a mayor send his deputy mayor into the fray, only to get killed?"

"It's got to be something with Faith," Giles said. "Lucius was after her, and he was trying to convince her that we weren't to be trusted."

"Deputy Mayor... Faith... vampires... am I the only one that's confused here?" Rocky asked. This brought out a few smiles from the group.

"Well... I'm confused to, but I thought I'd just kind of run with it until I caught on," Jason teased. "By the way, he's Rocky, I'm Jason, and she's Kat, my girlfriend, and we're friends of Tommy and Kim. So if you guys are friends of theirs, we're in."

"Let me guess... former rangers?" Buffy asked.

"Former rangers," Kat replied.

"Ok, so back to Faith... what do they want from her?" Willow asked.

"Probably has something to do with this ascension the Mayor is planning," Xander said.

"Ascension?" Oz asked.

"I don't know... I just know that ascending is part of the Mayor's plans," Xander explained.

"How do you know all this, anyway?" Buffy asked.

"Well, you know villains," He replied. "They gloat stupidly, revealing their plot because in their arrogant minds the heroes couldn't possibly stop them."

"Ok, so it sounds like we know what we're after," Buffy answered. "I want all hands on deck, we need to figure out what this ascension is, and how to stop it. Also, we need to find a way to battle Lucius, if he's a wizard, he's probably a bit more skilled than the dabbling of spells that you two do," she said, pointing to Giles and Willow. "Tommy, Kim?" She said, looking at them. "I need you to figure out if there's any other motive in capturing Kim other than revenge."

"We'll stay with the research team," Kim said.

"Jason, Rocky, and Kat," Buffy said, and they all looked at her. "Welcome to Sunnydale, home of the hellmouth." Buffy began to walk out of the library when Xander called her name.

"What about research on the Trickster?" He asked.

"See if there are any ties to Wilkins or wizards," she replied. "I'm going to talk to the only one who's experienced him.

"Who's that?" Kim asked.

"Angel."

*Mayor's Office*

The mayor stood staring in his closet, which revealed many different idols, incense, and other demonic items. The buzzer on his desk rang, and he gently closed the sliding doors, and then went over to his desk. "Yes?"

"You have a visitor," a female voice said over the system.

"Send her in." He waited for a moment, until the door opened from the hallway into his office, revealing Faith. "I thought you might come."

"Yeah... so what," Faith said.

"You know... I could easily have you arrested, having killed my Deputy Mayor and all," he said seriously.

"It wasn't me!" Faith rapidly denied, but Mayor Wilkins hushed her with his finger.

"It's ok, Faith. I'm not going to tell anyone."

"Why? Why aren't you going to tell?"

"Because I care Faith. I know how much you've hurt, and how you've been hurt. I want to give you the life that you always deserved. And I can give that to you."

"Look... I don't want your pity," Faith recoiled, but softer.

"It's not pity," the Mayor replied. Faith tried to understand, but was still struggling to figure out the eccentric Mayor. For the first time in a long time, Faith had felt a sense of warmth and love. She didn't understand how or why. It was as if the Mayor was another father figure. She lost one once when Kakistos murdered her watcher. But she felt the same tenderness, the same affection... even the same joy. She couldn't explain it, other than she saw the Mayor actually striving to care for her, even if it was partially for his own gain. It didn't matter... the feeling of being loved and protected meant more than doing the right thing.

"What can I do for you?"

"Well... for starters, you can help by keeping Ms. Summers out of my hair."

*Sunnydale Cemetery*

Lucius stood near some of the freshest graves. Normally he didn't choose to go places based off intuition, but he felt an overwhelming need to be there. It was there that a familiar face chose to reveal himself again to him.

"I had a feeling you might show up again," Lucius spoke. "What are you here to report?"

"I'm only here to tell you that you're more foolish than I expected," the man in green robes said harshly. "I tell you to utilize Faith, and instead, you use some stupid boy to kidnap someone. It was a plan that reeked of impotence."

"And why should I be so concerned that someone named the 'Trickster' disapproves of my plans?" Lucius asked sarcastically. "Maybe you have your own little agenda in all of this?" The Trickster smirked at this, looking at him with almost snake-like eyes.

"I'd just hate to see all your planning and conniving go to waste because of an oversight," he replied to Lucius. "Tell me... why have you wasted all this time. Why not just go after the rangers on your own?"

"Better to destroy them from the inside out," he reasoned. "My plan is to put Kim under the imperius curse, so that she can do nothing except murder her true love. And then she'll take out the rest of them."

"Seems rather harsh," he said. "Why concern yourself with such creatures?"

"They stripped me of my family!" He shouted. "If it weren't for those filthy muggles, I'd be ruling at the right hand of the Dark Lord, my family brimming with pride over their husband and father. Instead, they do nothing but look down on me. It was their fault! I want them to feel the slow, subtle, hopeless pain that I felt. As I strip them of their lives, they'll know what it was like for me to be stripped of everything I held dear."

"You realize, that in spite of your plan, the rangers are now in Sunnydale?"

"The boy failed?" Lucius asked. "And they kept him alive?"

"Yes. And they sent word... by owl. Harry Potter is on his way, along with aurors."

"Those children mean nothing to me."

"Those CHILDREN are the ones who truly led to your undoing the last time!" The Trickster yelled.

"No worries, my partner. Our friend, the Mayor, will ascend, and they'll all die."

"You think I'm here because I think some insignificant demon is going to succeed in his plot? You of all people should know that his plan won't succeed. These aren't your run of the mill humans, and though he may be powerful, he is nothing compared to the might of your magic... not to mention compared to mine."

"How long have you been watching us? Watching me?" Lucius asked, realizing that the man that stood before him knew much more than he ever thought.

"I gaze upon the events of the Earth from time to time. There's an object hidden in this world from my own, an object that surpasses all power. As I have searched for it, I noticed the latest wizarding war. Particularly, I noticed two people whose will, heart, and determination swung the balance of the war to Harry's side. Since then, I've been observing one of them in particular. When they came to Sunnydale, I wanted to test their mettle, so I destroyed their car, made it look like a bunch of primitive vampires. They passed my tests with flying colors... she is something, isn't she?"

"The girl?"

"She's got heart... so to speak."

"What are you saying?" Lucius asked.

"All I'm saying is that, in spite of your recent failures, you've managed to choose the right person to utilize. Now, it's just a matter of how."

"Leave that to me, Trickster," Lucius said. With that, he disapparated.

The Trickster chuckled to himself, his grin becoming a full, evil smile. "Keep your plans going, Lucius," he muttered to himself. "As your plans fail, they set up mine to succeed."

To be continued...

Thanks for reading, don't forget to review!

- Googz333


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I own nothing but ideas. The rights to all universes belong either to Haim Saban, JK Rowling, or Joss Whedon.

Whispers in the Dark - Chapter 11

*Angel's Mansion*

"Look, no offense, but I don't think they want my help," Angel said, refusing to cooperate with Buffy.

"Angel," Buffy sighed. She had spent the last hour trying to convince Angel to help them, both with their research and with their fight with Lucius and the Mayor. "Look... you are the only one who has actually seen this trickster guy, and you're another able-bodied fighter. We need you with us."

"Somehow, I doubt Giles or Xander needs me," Angel shot back.

"I need you with me," Buffy confessed. "Look... I know what we had... well, we probably won't have that again. But Angel, I need your help, and not just to fight. You... you make me feel secure... safe... like nothing bad is going to happen."

"The last time we fought together, I lost my soul and then tried to kill you," Angel pointed out.

"Ok... so I didn't realize that if I slept with you, you would become Angelus. The point is, I could use your expertise, your fighting ability, and your security."

Angel thought for a moment, considering what Buffy was asking. "Look... I'll come on one condition," he said.

"What's that?"

"You let me go," Angel said.

"What?" She asked, her tone mixed with shock and hurt.

"Look... I can't trust myself with you. Buffy, I haven't stopped loving you, but I can't do anything about it. Unless you want to go over that whole episode of me losing my soul again, and I can't let that happen. Not again."

"I'm not agreeing with that," Buffy said.

"You don't have a choice. Otherwise, you don't get to have me on the team."

"Fine... but don't expect me to drop this," Buffy said defiantly. Angel gathered a few things, including a couple of weapons, and then they left the mansion for the library. They spoke very few words as they went, Buffy clearly frustrated by her ex-boyfriend's decision. They finally made it to the library, where they opened it to find the scoobies and the rangers. "Angel, this is Tommy, Kim, Jason, Kat, and Rocky," she said, successfully naming the other three rangers that she had only met a couple hours prior.

"Nice to meet you," Angel said.

"Likewise," Tommy said, extending his hand. "I hear you might be able to help us."

"Is that what they say?" Angel asked in a surprised tone. "Hopefully you won't be disappointed."

"Angel," a voice, undoubtedly belonging to Giles, said from the behind the checkout desk.

"Giles," he replied. Though Angel could tell there was an edge to Giles' voice, he could tell that there was at least an understanding of him being there. Xander nodded his head out of respect, but there was not much else in terms of welcome.

"Ok, so quick recap," Buffy started. "Any word on the ascension?"

"Not completely, but we have a few notes on it," Willow said. "Apparently it has something to do with a deal made with a demon. In exchange for immortality, it sounds like a demon will take root in someone's body each generation."

"Our guess is that Mayor Wilkins will then get to rule the town, or just bring armageddon," Oz finished his girlfriend's thought.

"Armageddon?" Rocky asked.

"Oh... I saw that movie," Xander said. This garnered looks from most people in the room. "What? It was really good... I cried when Bruce Willis died at the end."

"Xander," Oz replied. "Armageddon, as in the demon will cause it... not that we'll watch it."

"Oh... right," he said sheepishly. "Carry on."

"Might cause it, not will," Willow interjected. "Other than that, we don't have much."

"What about the other fellow you had mentioned?" Kat asked.

"Yeah, what about this guy named the Trickster?" Jason followed.

"He's bad news," Angel quickly spoke.

"Oh really?" Cordelia asked sarcastically. "I thought we were only following leads on semi-bad people."

"Cordelia, either do something productive, or leave," Buffy snapped. "I don't have time for your sarcasm."

"It's ok," Angel said, putting a hand on Buffy's shoulder. "Cordelia, I should probably provide a bit more clarity." Cordelia looked like she wanted to leave, but refused once she saw everyone begin to listen up to the vampire with a soul. "Look... I experienced him... he was the one who tortured me when I went through the portal that Acathla opened up."

"Who is he?" Giles asked curiously.

"I don't know his real name. What I do know is that he wore green robes, had slicked back black hair, snake-like eyes. He tortured me, using..."

"Green beams of energy?" To everyone's surprise, it was Kim who finished his statement.

"For part of it... yes. How did you know?"

"He... I had a nightmare about a month ago," Kim confessed. "It was of our wedding," she said, pointing to Tommy. "He had vaporized Tommy, and then transformed me, only to use me to destroy all of you," she said pointing to the rest of her friends. "It felt so real..."

"Do you think maybe it's demon, something that guards the hellmouth?" Willow asked.

"Definitely not... this guy is not from there," Angel answered. "He was from somewhere else. But what you describe... him being able to control you... being able to watch."

"Kim... you were right," Kat said. "You are being watched."

"Hold on," Tommy said. "Before we jump to conclusions, what if this is just a set up from Lucius. He could be using Legimens, a mind control technique. Maybe he was behind all of this from the start."

"You think that he could engineer something like this?" Jason asked.

"Well, you mentioned he's a death eater, correct?" Giles asked.

"Yeah," Tommy and Jason replied simultaneously.

"He could have the power to do so," he said. "If that's the case, my question is what does the ascension have to do with all of this. It almost seems as if the ascension is only a ploy."

"Then why enlist Faith?" Xander asked. "I mean, if this Lucius guy is so powerful, why does he need the help of some second-rate slayer?"

"Guys, I don't think this Lucius guy is your man," Angel interjected. "This guy... the trickster, he has big plans. I don't know what they are, but he was trying to brainwash me for some purpose."

"What's he after?" Rocky asked.

"For all I know, he's after mass chaos. But I think we need to realize that this guy isn't just a figment of Kim's or my imagination. This guy is the mastermind, whether Lucius or the Mayor realizes it."

"Wait... what did you just say?" Buffy asked.

"Which part? The fact that he's the mastermind, or that I don't know if Lucius or the Mayor realize it?"

"The latter... I think you might have hit something," Buffy said.

"Wait... I don't understand," Tommy said.

"Neither do the rest of us," Xander echoed.

"Look... last week Lucius and the Mayor both started to set things in motion," Buffy explained. "They're both fully convinced that they are in control of this situation, and that we are the only obstacle in their way. And yet, someone who's been observing us this entire time, has somehow gotten all of us in the same location all at the same time. The ascension, nor kidnapping Kim, are just ploys. But they are diversions to something bigger."

"What do you suggest this man could be doing?" Giles asked.

"I don't know, that's where my theory starts to run dry," Buffy shared.

"Right now, it seems like our best option is to head off the ascension and protect Kim," Tommy said.

"And let the big bad have no attention?" Buffy asked.

"No, I think we give him the utmost attention," Tommy said, confusing everyone in the room. "But I agree with you in that I don't think the ascension and kidnapping Kimberly are ploys." At this point, Kim wrapped her arms around Tommy's waist, and he slid his arm around her shoulder. "What if we head these things off to help expose our main threat?"

"One problem with that, bro," Jason interrupted. "Lucius is too powerful for us to take down. We need Harry before we can track him down."

"Not necessarily," Kim said. "Don't you and Giles know a smattering of magic?" She pointed to Willow and then to Giles.

"Well, I know a little... but not enough to take down a full-blown wizard," Willow said. Giles nodded his head in agreement.

"We don't need you to take him down," Tommy said. "We need you to restrict him, keep him at bay until Harry and the others get here. Then, maybe we can find a way to use the magic to strip the Mayor of his connection with whatever is ascending through him."

"What about Faith?" Xander asked. "Think you can bring her back to her senses, Buffy?"

"I don't know... to do that would be to convince her to turn herself in for killing Finch after this is all over," Buffy explained.

"What if I went and talked to her?" Tommy asked. "I know she doesn't know me well, but maybe if it's someone she doesn't know too well."

"Tommy, are you crazy?" Kim asked. "That girl wanted to... well." Both Tommy and Buffy knew what Kim was referring to, particularly the comments Faith made about 'having her way with him.'

"Look, I'm crazy about you," Tommy said. "She's not going to seduce me, and I can hold my own against her in a fight."

"You sure about that?" Buffy asked. "You're a good fighter and all, but she's a slayer."

"What if Rocky and I went with him?" Jason asked. "The three of us could take her down if she get's out of control."

"No... if I show up with you two, she'll think we're going to try and hurt her," Tommy said. "Maybe you can follow at a distance, but she can't know you're close by."

"I could use a tracing spell?" Willow half-asked. "This way if anything happens, we can track you down."

"Are you sure Willow?" Giles asked.

"Look... maybe I'm not full blown wizard, but I can give it my best. At worst, this type of spell will only give me a headache... and not work."

"Either way, I think it's our only way of winning Faith back to us," Tommy said. "Otherwise, from the sound of it, the Mayor could have his own slayer for hire."

"So, Tommy's going to get Faith," Rocky started. "Jason and I are going with him, but keeping our distance. And Willow is doing a tracing thingy." The former rangers grinned at Rocky's lack of proper terminology. "How do we get Lucius and the Mayor?"

"Willow's going to work on some spells," Buffy said. "Angel and I will start working on a battle plan, in case if the Mayor does end up succeeding in ascending."

"The rest of us can wait on the aurors," Giles said. "And we can focus on research and protecting Kimberly."

"Then it's settled," Tommy said. "When do we start?"

*Downtown Sunnydale*

Faith, Mr. Trick and Mayor Wilkins walked through one of the few high-rise apartments in downtown Sunnydale. It was fully furnished with furniture, an entertainment center, and top of the line appliances, carpeting, fixtures, and more. It was a dream. "All of this is for you, Faith," Wilkins said to her.

"Nice pad," she said with a small grin.

"Oh... and you might like the closet over there," Wilkins said, pointing to double sliding doors close to them. She opened them to find state-of-the-art weaponry, including a section of poisons, another of projectile weapons, and then stakes, swords, knives. "Also... as an early birthday present." As Faith turned back towards him, she saw him holding a clean, shiny, twisted knife.

"This will be nice to use... particularly on that blonde-haired whore," Faith said. Wilkins, who was normally not the one to tolerate such language, grinned at her growing hatred for Buffy.

"Now now, Faith," Wilkins said. "Remember the plan, and stick to it."

"Will do, boss," Faith said. As they were about to leave, they suddenly heard a loud pop. They turned to find Lucius standing there.

"We must hurry our plans, I've received word that the rangers have returned to Sunnydale," Lucius said. "And, they are bringing others. Friends of my ilk."

"I thought that was taken care of?" Wilkins asked.

"It was a mistake on my part... one that I will rectify shortly," Lucius replied.

"A mistake?" Mr. Trick asked. "I told you this wizard was not to be trusted, Mr. Mayor."

"You can stand here and question my power, or we can jump to action," Lucius said.

"Actually," Mayor Wilkins interjected. "This could work out to our favor. Mr. Trick, if you could accompany Faith with a group of your vampires back to her old motel room."

"What do you have in mind?" Faith asked.

"I'm playing a hunch," Wilkins said. "They'll want to gain you back... instead, we can force their new strength in numbers down a bit."

To be continued...

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review!

- Googz333


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters, only ideas.

Whispers in the Dark - Chapter 12

The scoobies and rangers spent two days planning, researching, and waiting. Though they were able to come up with some other ideas, they still were very much in the dark. They still knew very little about the Trickster, other than what Angel and Kim could describe. Tommy, Jason, and Rocky spent time training with Buffy, getting a real live test of their strength against hers. She was impressed, although she knew if she was going at full strength, she could have subdued the three of them. However, as she watched them, she knew they'd have a distinct advantage in the way they fight. They were incredibly disciplined, and were all very good at using her mistakes against her, which could swing the advantage in their favor against Faith... if it would turn out that way.

Willow spent time working on the tracing spell, with limited success. The trace on Tommy worked, indicating on a map of Sunnydale where he was. However, it would disappear from time to time, which concerned them. She also researched with Oz, Cordy, and Xander any spells or items that could restrict Lucius' magic or keep the Mayor from ascending. Though they had some ideas, none of them were definitive ways to end their respective threats.

Giles spent time with Kim and Kat, trying to understand if there were any other reasons why Lucius would want Kim other than revenge. He deduced that if it were just for revenge, then any of the four rangers that fought against Lucius would be fair game. Still, Kat warned that there might be a reason Lucius would want Kimberly and not the others.

Finally, that night, they chose to start putting their plan into action. Tommy went to the Old Motel, while Jason and Rocky were about a quarter mile away with the map, in the old abandoned warehouse where Buffy and the others had fought Kakistos. When Tommy arrived to the door, he knocked, but heard no answer. He knocked a few more times, and then yelled her name, but no response. It was then he chose to try opening the door, and it was surprisingly unlocked. He walked in to see Mr. Trick, who he had seen once before.

"Well, well, well," Mr. Trick said, smiling devilishly at Tommy. "If it isn't the greatest ranger of all time." Tommy noticed that the room was bare, no bed or other furniture anywhere to be found.

"Where's Faith? What did you do with her?"

"I did nothing," Trick replied. "But with you... I plan of having a nice snack." He lunged at him, but Tommy side-stepped him. Tommy was thankful that there was enough space in the room, because he felt he would need his full range of motion to survive the fight.

In the warehouse, Jason and Rocky stood watching the map to see if anything changed.

"If he's not out of there in 10 minutes, we're going after him," Jason said. Suddenly, doors swung open, and they turned to see a half-dozen vampires walking in.

"That's if we CAN walk out in 10 minutes," Rocky chimed in. They looked at each other, and then down in their belts where they each pulled a wooden stake from.

"Let's take them," Jason said. The vampires charged at Jason and Rocky, engaging them in combat.

Mr. Trick and Tommy continued to battle, seemingly to a stalemate. Finally, it was Tommy who landed a series of kicks to Trick's chest. He then kicked off the wall and spun into a heel kick, catching Trick on the chin. He pulled his stake, and as Trick went to get up, Tommy pierced through Trick's chest with it.

"Oh... that's rather unfortunat..." Trick muttered before he turned to ash. Tommy picked up his stake, but as he turned around the last thing he saw was the handle of a knife. Faith had been there, watching, waiting to make her move. And she thrust the blunt handle into Tommy's temple, knocking him out cold.

In the warehouse, Jason finally got the upper hand on the last vampire, plunging the stake into his heart. However, he looked over to Rocky, who was bleeding. "Rocky! You all right!" He said, running over to his friend.

"I'm ok, I didn't get bitten, but I think they broke my arm," he said. "You saved my carcass by taking that last vampire, thanks."

"Don't mention it... if you splint your arm, can you keep moving?"

"I think so... check the map," Rocky replied. Jason went and checked it, and to his horror, saw that Tommy was moving both away from the Motel and further from them. Then, the signal disappeared.

"Rocky, we've gotta move. Tommy's in trouble." Rocky abandoned the splint, and figured he'd just have to deal with the pain until he got back to the high school. They ran as fast as they could, getting to the motel room. They found nothing but a wooden stake, which laid on the empty floor.

*Angel's Mansion*

"Buffy, I feel uncomfortable leading the response team to the ascension," Angel said. "Giles and Xander don't trust me, let alone the rest of the gang."

"But you're the only one who has ever seen anything quite like an ascension, with all your history of being a vampire and all."

"Did you hear that?" Angel asked.

"Are you trying to change the topic?" Buffy responded, getting frustrated.

"No... I mean it. I thought I heard something."

"Maybe it was a squirrel," Buffy said sarcastically.

"I'm going to go check it out," Angel said, and turned and walked out of the mansion, Buffy not far behind him.

"Angel, don't walk away as I'm talking with you!" However, the next thing she saw was an arrow plunge through his back. It wasn't through the heart, but Angel's knees buckled and he crumpled to the ground. Buffy ran to him to check on him, and then looked up to see if she could spot who shot it. She saw a figure drop from the trees and land, and then ran the opposite direction. There was no doubt that it was Faith. She looked back to Angel, and pulled the arrow out. Though Angel should have been fine from a simple arrow, she noticed that his pain wasn't going away, and his strength was continuing to fade. She picked him up and brought him back into the mansion, and laid him down on the floor. "Stay with me, Angel." She picked up the arrow, looked at the head of it, and realized it was covered in something other than blood.

Suddenly, another thought came to her mind. _'If Faith shot Angel with the arrow... what does that mean about Tommy? He was s__upposed to be with her an hour ago.'_ "Angel," she said to him. He looked up, barely, as he writhed in pain. "I need to go back to Giles, I'm going to find out what Faith did to you, and how we can cure it. In the mean time..." She stopped for a moment, looking at her former lover with seriousness and determination. "Stay alive."

To be continued...

Thanks for reading, don't forget to review!

- Googz333


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: You guys know the drill... I own no characters, am making no money off of this, and only have ideas to my name.

Whispers in the Dark - Chapter 13

"Where's Tommy?" Kim asked as Jason helped Rocky through the doors of the library.

"We don't know," Jason replied. "We tried to track him, but the tracing spell wore off."

"Why didn't you guys get to him in time!" Kim questioned, Kat coming over to comfort her, but to no avail.

"We got ambushed," Rocky said. "Nearly lost my arm... speaking of which, anyone know how to splint a broken arm?"

"I can help," Giles said. He wandered over and started to help him while Jason, Kim, and Kat continued to talk.

"What are we going to do?" Kim asked.

"Everything we can," Jason assured her. "Remember what Willow said about the trace? It could reappear soon, which will give us his and Faith's location."

"I hope you're right," Kim said. Before anyone could say anything else, Buffy swung the doors open and stopped quick to catch her breath, clearly from running in a mad dash to get there.

"Where's Tommy?" Buffy asked.

"We think Faith has him," Jason replied. "We were ambushed, and by the time Rocky and I got to him, he was gone."

"Damn," Buffy said. "Tommy's not our only concern," she said, switching gears. "After she kidnapped Tommy, she got the drop on Angel and I. I'm fine, but she struck Angel with an arrow."

"Is he?" Giles asked.

"Ash? No... but there's more than just blood on this arrowhead, I need you to analyze it." Buffy handed the arrow to Giles, who took a small sniff, and then looked at it intently.

"I'll need some time to research it, but I think I have a good idea of what this is," Giles replied. He returned to his office, leaving Kat, Kim, Jason, Rocky, and her together.

"Where are Xander and the others?" Buffy asked.

"They're catching a couple hours of sleep to freshen up," Kim replied. "Giles wanted to take this shift to watch over me, he gave Kat and I some ideas in how to fight off vampires a bit more effectively."

"Ok... as soon as they wake up, we need Willow to focus on finding Tommy. If he's still alive, it will probably be with Faith."

*Faith's Apartment*

Tommy began to stir awake, but barely began to open his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the splitting headache he had. As he scrunched his head, he also felt the pain of a wound on his temple, along with the feeling of drying blood. Next he noticed the cool air on his skin, and that his skin was exposed on his entire body, for the exception of his boxers. He was sitting in a chair, and he realized that as he moved, or attempted to move, he was restrained by ropes and metal handcuffs.

"You can stop pretending to be asleep, hot stuff," Faith said.

"Where am I?" Tommy said, still groggy from the blow to his head.

"My new pad," Faith said. "I was thinking we could have a little private time together. You could try out the new bed, or we could just get down and dirty right here. I mean, you tied up and handcuffed up is kind of kinky, don't you think?"

"Sorry, not interested," Tommy replied firmly.

"Oh, that's right... you like that skinny chick, don't you," Faith taunted. "I doubt she can give what a stallion of man you are needs."

"You didn't drag me here so you can have sex with me, so cut to the chase."

"Ouch," Faith replied. "Okay, so you don't to have a little fun beforehand... fine by me. But just so you know, the pleasure I'd give you would be far better than that little slut could ever give you."

"First off... her name is Kimberly, my future wife. Second, I have more pleasure just by being in her presence than I ever would doing something with you."

"Pleasure from her presence?" Faith asked. "Oh I get it," she said, smiling devilishly. "Because you guys actually haven't gone all the way, have you? Actually, she's not a whore, she's a wound up little prude."

"She and I are merely waiting for the time God gives us," Tommy said firmly, but respectfully.

"Too bad that I'm going to have to kill you before that day," Faith said nonchalantly. "But, you know, you could maybe give yourself a chance. All you have to do is help me kill Buffy, and promise you guys will get out of town, and you have yourself a deal. You can delight yourself in your little Kimberly on your wedding day, get off all you need to."

"Not interested," Tommy replied.

"So noble," Faith taunted.

"Noble... right," Tommy rolled his eyes. "Out of curiosity, what exactly is your plan here?"

"Besides torturing you for information and then killing you?"

"I'm asking big picture here, Faith," Tommy replied. "So you kill me, get to spend time with the Mayor. But then he ascends. And not that I've ever witnessed an ascension, but you get to spend time with a demon who wants to destroy Sunnydale and then the world. You do realize that you're part of the world? That if the Mayor destroys it, you're gone too?"

"Shut up."

"No, because what you're doing is wrong, and the biggest person your hurting is yourself." As soon as he finished speaking, Faith lifted her leg and thrusted her shoe onto Tommy's barefoot. He yelped in pain, which was certainly greater not only because her foot was in the shoe, but because of her amplified strength. Suddenly leapt onto him, straddling him with a devilish smirk on her face as she looked him in the eyes.

"I think the person you just hurt the most was yourself, because I'm going to make this night the most painful of your life."

*Sunnydale High School Library*

Willow, Oz, and Xander walked through the doors, and were alarmed to see the state Rocky was in, as well as the looks of frustration on the others.

"What happened?" Xander asked. Buffy was about to answer, but it was Kim who piped up first.

"They've got Tommy, Angel has been poisoned, Rocky has a broken arm, the trace isn't working, and we have no leads." Kat and Jason got up to try and ease the tension, but Buffy followed it up.

"That about sums up what's happened."

"Do you guys still have the map?" Willow asked. Jason handed it to her, and she took it and made her way over to the large table in the middle of the room and sat down. "I'm going to see if I can help strengthen the trace, anything else we can do?"

"Pray," Kat said. "Other than that, we can't do much of anything until we find out where Faith is."

"Wait... isn't there normally one more girl with you?" Rocky asked.

"Cordy was supposed to meet us here, guess she's running late," Xander said.

"Are you sure she's just running late?" Jason asked.

"If she's not here soon, we'll go looking for her," Oz said. "But this isn't the first time that something like this has happened."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Xander asked.

"I'm just saying she isn't always the most timely person... chill."

"I've got it!" Giles and Willow shouted simultaneously as Giles ran into the room.

"Will, you first," Buffy said.

"Tommy's near city hall, probably on the top floor of one of those fancy apartment buildings."

"How can you tell it's the top floor?" Jason asked.

"The way the signal is responding," Willow replied.

"Ok, so we've narrowed our search," Buffy concluded. "Giles?"

"The poison that's running through Angel's body is enchanted. The only way to cure him is to give him the blood of the slayer."

"Perfect, I know of a slayer who can help," Buffy said.

"Wait," Kat piped up. "You mean that Angel has to feed on Faith or you to survive?"

"Well, hopefully just Faith," Xander replied.

"No offense, but doesn't that seem like we're stooping to their level?" Jason asked this time. "Faith might be a criminal, not to mention working for a demon and dark wizard, but last time I checked, she was still human. I mean, we were taught never to use our power for personal gain, and never to elevate a battle."

"Look, no offense, I don't have time for whatever Power Ranger Code of honor you took," Buffy said. "Tommy is missing, Angel is dying, and we need both if we are going beat Wilkins or Lucius."

"Maybe," Kim said. "Look, I love Tommy... but I side with Jason on this. We're called to be heroes, what this sounds like is vengeance."

"Oh great... so we're going to stall and lose them because of our conscience, is that it?" Buffy asked sarcastically.

"Well... we could just rescue Tommy and let Angel die," Xander said. Buffy looked at him incredulously, and Xander tensed up under her gaze. "Or I could just insert my foot in my mouth."

"Or you and Faith could both help rescue Angel," Kat said. "Or at least try."

"And how are we going to get Faith to do that?" Buffy asked. "She was the one who shot the arrow in the first place!"

"We continue what Tommy went to do," Kim said. "We try and rehabilitate her, her mind anyway."

"Giles, how much time do we have before the poison kills Angel?" Jason asked.

"A day, maybe 36 hours," Giles replied grimly.

"I guess then we're just going to have to work fast then," Jason said. "Let's go."

"Excuse me?" Buffy asked. "Last time I checked, I called the shots."

"I'm going after my best friend," Jason replied seriously. "Kim and Kat are coming along. If you want to join us, go right ahead. But I'm not waiting for you." Jason, Kim and Kat started to walk out, armed with weapons.

"Wait!" Buffy yelled after them. "I'm coming with you, you'll need my knowledge of Sunnydale to get through."

"Let's go then," Kim said, giving Buffy a small smile. They walked out of the library and the school, and got into Jason's car. He drove the trio of ladies downtown, and parked outside of one of the high-rises. They went through the lobby and saw a youngish man waiting at the front desk. They walked towards him, Buffy pulling out a picture of Faith that she had brought with her.

"Does this girl live here?" Buffy asked. The man only laughed.

"She said you'd becoming for her," he replied, his face shifting, exposing his demonic nature.

"I've got him," Jason said, nudging Buffy out of the way.

"No Jason!" Buffy screamed, but by the time she was done, the vampire leapt over the desk knocking Jason down. Jason used the momentum to flip him over, and kicked himself up and pulled the stake from his belt.

"Come on, is that all you got?" Jason asked with a small smirk on his face. The vamp didn't answer, instead choosing to charge the young man. Jason caught him with two kicks, one to the knee, the second to the chest, causing the demon to stagger. He spun and plunged the stake into the chest, the vampire becoming ash.

"Nice work," Kat said to her boyfriend.

"Thanks," he smiled.

"I really need to stop underestimating you guys," Buffy confessed.

"It's ok," Kim said, giving her a squeeze on the shoulder. "Can we use that computer to see if Faith is still here?"

"I can give it a try," Kat said. She logged into the computer and started looking through the files. "There's actually a bit of security on here, but nothing to serious."

"Since when did you get good at breaking security?" Kim asked.

"Between some of the things Billy showed me in the power chamber, and all the admin work at the school, I can find my way around certain things," Kat grinned. "Never thought I'd be hacking a local government though." She continued to type away, and then began to smile much more widely. "They're up in room 1501."

"Let's go," Buffy said. The four wandered into the elevator, and ascended to the 15th floor. When they got there, they were startled to see that there was only one other door. It was without a doubt room 1501. Buffy stood outside the door for a moment, motioning for the others to hide near the corner of the hallway, and then she kicked the door in and crossed the threshold of the room only to see Tommy bound in the chair, covered in cuts, bruises, and burns. Though his mouth was covered with duct tape, he tried to say something. Buffy turned to see Faith, attempting to plunge her cruel-edged knife into her temple. She ducked, and found her way across the room.

"Well well well, you finally made it to my lovely home," Faith cackled. She moved toward her, tapping her leg with the knife. As the rangers saw her move towards Buffy, Kim almost ran towards Tommy. But Jason restrained her.

"What are you doing?" Kim whispered.

"Just wait," he replied.

"You here to take my blood, B?" Faith asked mockingly. "Give that demonic boy-toy his little cure?"

"Like you're one to talk, F," Buffy mocked back. "You make fun of Angel, and yet you're rolling with the highest of demons."

"You just don't understand do you?" Faith asked. "What the Mayor wants is..."

"Total destruction," Jason said, revealing himself. Faith turned her head to see Jason in front of the doorway, and then turned her attention back to Buffy

"So you brought another hottie with you this time?" Faith said.

"Not just a hottie," Buffy said.

"We'll see about that," she said, and then turned, attempting to slash Jason across the chest, but he jumped back.

"Look, I don't want to fight you," Jason said.

"That's too bad for you," Faith quipped, attempting to slash him again, this time catching his shirt, tearing a chunk of cloth from the front of it. He grimaced, knowing she also was able to cut him. "You should fight back!" She lunged at him again, but he moved, and Buffy ran over and landed a punch, knocking the knife out of her hand. The slayers wrestled on the ground, and as Faith was distracted, Jason motioned for Kim and Kat to come out of the hallway and ran towards Tommy. The first thing Kim did was rip the duct tape from his mouth.

"Bea...u...tiful?" Tommy asked, clearly out of it from the torture he received at the hands of Faith.

"It's me, handsome," Kim replied. "We're going to get you out of here." Kat was working the ropes behind him.

"What about you?" Tommy asked, realizing that Kim was out in the open. "Why are you here?"

"Because we work together," Kim said. "Besides, clearly I'm not the only one in danger."

"Less talk, more work," Kat whispered, trying to hurry up on getting the ropes undone. At this point, they heard a loud crash, and Buffy was writhing in pain on the ground amongst broken glass and wood. Faith had thrown her through her coffee table.

"Faith," Jason said, backing up from her, clearly not wanting to fight her.

"I don't know you, nor do I care why you are here," Faith said coldly. "If you're friends with B, you're my enemy."

"Just wait!" Jason tried to stop her, but she elbowed him in the head, sending him crashing into the wall. She turned to see Kim and Kat, along with the now untied Tommy sitting on the chair.

"Faith, listen," Kim said, starting to stand up.

"You going to try and talk me out of what I'm doing to?"

"Look in the mirror and see what you're doing," Kim said to her. "You tortured my future husband, you're harming a guy who doesn't want to hurt you, and you're working towards the end of the destruction of a whole city. Does that not affect you in some way?"

"You all keep speaking as if I'm someone who needs your help," Faith cackled. "As I look around the room, I'd say you're the ones who need help."

"At least we're willing to admit it," Tommy said. Faith snorted, but then the heel of a patented Jason Lee Scott tornado kick struck her in the back of the head.

"Get Tommy out, now!" He shouted to the three of them. Faith got up and looked at the former red ranger enraged. She was about to charge, but then it was Buffy who caught her with a punch. She hit her with a barrage of punches and kicks, leading them close to large window on the opposite side of the apartment. Faith tried to land a kick, but her momentum led her to lose her balance right as Buffy kicked her, allowing her body to break through the thick glass, falling from the top of the apartment complex to the ground.

"Faith, no!" Buffy screamed, Jason running to the edge, but they both saw it was too late to undo what had just been done. They saw her land into the bed of a very large truck, so it was possible she could have survived, though not very likely. What was worse was she realized the way to save Angel came down to her giving her blood for him.

To be continued...

Thanks for reading, don't forget to review!

- Googz333


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: You guys know the deal. I own nothing except ideas, while the characters are owned by Saban, Joss Whedon, JK Rowling, and Stan Lee... yes, I said Stan Lee.

Whispers in the Dark - Chapter 14

Buffy moved from slowly from the edge of the wall-sized, shattered window. While Jason continued to look on at the truck that contained Faith's damaged body, Buffy knew she had one of two choices at this point: let Angel die, or give herself up for him.

"I'm sorry we couldn't save her," Jason said while he continued to look down at the ground. "Maybe she could have survived that, but even then, we would have to try and track her down, and that could take hours. By then we don't know if she would still be alive or stable enough to give Angel part of her blood." He continued to think, going into full leader mode. "Maybe we could track that truck, I think I recognized the model, what do you think?" Jason turned to find the room empty, leaving only himself. "Buffy?"

By this point, Buffy had all ready exited the elevator, which took her to the lobby. She flew out the doors, briefly seeing Kat and Kim helping Tommy to Jason's car, but didn't slow down for anything. She ran as fast as she could, knowing she had to get to Angel before she changed her mind. She wanted to give her blood for him, but she was also apprehensive. It could kill her. It could be exactly what the Mayor wanted. She didn't care. So she ran, and ran. It was a good 30 minutes before she finally reached his mansion, where she left him before. She entered, seeing her former lover laying on the cold floor. She ran to his side and knelt down to him. His face showed signs of pain and torture, the poison closing in on taking his life.

"Get up," Buffy demanded suddenly. Angel looked at her as if she was crazy. "You need my blood to survive. Get up, and drink." She began to expose her neck to him. He did get up, albeit slowly, but he shook his head.

"I'm not killing you so that I can survive," Angel replied gently.

"I can survive it," she shot back. "You need my blood."

"What if this is what the Mayor wanted? What the Trickster wanted?"

"It doesn't matter." Buffy pleaded and pleaded, but Angel didn't budge on his decision, as weak as he was.

"Fine," she replied. Suddenly, she punched him in the face. He staggered, and then she struck him again, this time revealing his demonic nature. She grabbed him by his neck, and forced his mouth towards her neck. Angel tried to resist the urge, but the scent of her, the beating of her heart... it was too strong. He sunk his teeth into her neck and began to drink. Buffy felt the discomfort, life flowing out of her body. After a while, she tried to pull away, keeping him from drinking her dry. However, his bloodlust became too strong, and he kept her from pulling away. His strength overpowering hers, he continued to drink, now with a vigor that hadn't been there when he started. There was no doubt that he was cured, but at what cost?

Buffy, rapidly losing consciousness, was able to drag them over near a table. She grabbed an old vase that was on top of it and smashed it over Angel's head, finally separating them. She fell to the ground, blood dripping from her neck. Angel reverted back to his human form, and then looked upon Buffy, realizing what had just happened. "Buffy? Buffy!" He shouted multiple times as he knelt down to Buffy. He grabbed hold of her, picked her up, and ran.

*Sunnydale High School – Library*

After they made a stop at Tommy's car to get him suitable clothing, and helped him get changed, Jason and the others helped Tommy back into the library. It was deserted at this point, only with a note left for them at the desk. Once Kim and Jason got Tommy onto a chair, Kat read it out loud.

"_**Guys,**_

_**Those wizards you keep talking about showed up... I think they said their names were Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Tonks? Anyway, we went after the Mayor, we should be back soon. I know Harry, Ron, and Hermione were excited to see you all.**_

_**Rocky**_."

"They're here?" Kim asked.

"That's awesome," Tommy said weakly, obviously still recovering from the torture at the hands of Faith. "Looks like we're gonna win." He looked at Kim, who was holding him. "Just in time for our wedding."

Kim smiled weakly, but still nervous. They still had no clue whether they would find this Trickster, and still had no sign of Lucius. But things certainly were looking much more optimistic from this standpoint. The doors then suddenly opened, revealing Cordelia.

"You got him back?" She asked, pointing to Tommy.

"Yeah," Jason said suspiciously.

"Cordy, where have you been?" Kim asked.

"Sleeping, where else?" Cordy responded in her typical, sassy tone.

"Sorry," Kim replied. "We're just a bit on edge."

"Yeah, ever since Xander was put under that curse..." Kat's voice trailed off. "Why didn't you come with the others?" She asked suddenly.

"What?" Cordelia responded.

"Why did it take you so long for you to get here?" Jason asked. "It's been hours since Oz, Xander, and Willow were here. And they've been gone long enough for them to have been able to contact you."

"What are you implying?" Cordy snapped. "That I'm some raging psychopath that's trying to kidnap her?" She pointed to the petite gymnast. "I overslept, ok! You can trust me!"

"Ok, ok," Kat said.

"Where the hell is Buffy?" Cordy asked.

"We don't know," Jason replied. "She was with us when we rescued Tommy, but disappeared quickly afterwards."

"Do you think she went to save Angel on her own?" Kat asked.

"If she still has the same affection for him," Kim started, "I'd imagine she'd do anything to save him." She looked up to see Tommy on the chair he was resting on, at this point he had dosed off, the trauma finally getting to him.

"What should we do then?" Kat asked.

"Honestly, I don't know if there's anything we can do at this point," Jason replied. "Tommy's down for the count for at least a few hours, and we have strength in numbers here if Malfoy or anyone else tries to kidnap Kim."

"Sounds good to me," Cordelia said. Suddenly the lights went out in the library.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Kat said to herself.

"Kim, go towards Kat..." Jason started, but was interrupted by a sinister cackle, coming from behind them. They turned to see Lucius pointing his wand at the five of them.

"All this time, I've waited for this," he smiled. "You robbed me of everything." He said, walking with each step deliberately down the steps. "You, filthy, muggles."

"You think you can beat all five of us?" Jason asked.

"I think you mean four... considering your fearless leader is currently comatose," Lucius replied. "Now... give Kimberly to me, and I'll spare the rest of you."

"Not happening," Kat said. "You took two of our friends, you're not taking a third."

"And who's going to stop me... some powerless rangers?" He cackled again. Suddenly he heard a pop, and turned.

"How about a muggle-born witch?" Hermione appeared. "_**STUPEFY!**_" She leveled the curse at him, but he dodged it. Jason and Kat dove out of the way of it, while Kim and Cordy went to make sure Tommy didn't get hit by it. At this point, Ron, Harry, and Tonks all arrived as well. However, as they arrived, so did a host of vampires entered the main doors.

"Jason!" Harry screamed. "Look out!" He turned, and two vampires overwhelmed him, but Ron sent a curse, sending them flying. The rangers engaged them, along with Harry, Ron, and Tonks. Meanwhile, Hermione dueled with Malfoy, not giving any ground to him.

"Tommy, you need to get up!" Kim screamed, and he stirred awake to see a vampire coming right at them.

"Look out," he weakly said, but as she turned, Cordy moved in and plunged a stake into the vampire's heart, turning him to ash.

"Cordy!" Jason yelled as he battled the vamps. "Get Kim out of here!"

"What about Tommy!" Kim asked.

"All three of us will go... Tommy, you able to move?" Cordy asked.

"I think I can manage," Tommy said, now seemingly fully awake despite grimacing due to the pain. Tommy got off the chair and kicked one of the vampires in the chest, leaving him to stagger. He turned and followed Cordy and Kim out the back. They saw a window and slipped through it, leading to a courtyard in the middle of the school. Kim kept waiting for Tommy to catch up, but it was clear that he was not in the best shape to be running from pursuers.

"Come on Tommy, you need to keep up!" Cordy shouted. She turned, but saw no one behind them. "Guys... I think it's ok. They aren't following us." Tommy caught up to Kim, clearly out of breath. Kim looked to make sure he was ok, and then turned, only to freeze in horror to what she saw.

"Cordy, look out!" She turned, only for her to be flung to the ground. The man stepped onto the school grounds, green robes, long black hair clinging to his neck. The same man that Kim had seen in her nightmares.

"You need not worry Ms. Hart... Cordelia is not dead," the man uttered.

"It's you... you're really real," Kim said in shock.

"Yes... I am VERY real," he smiled back, and then shot green beam at Tommy, sending him to the ground with a thud.

"TOMMY!"

"He'll be fine, my dear. As long as you come with me, he will live."

"And if I refuse?" Kim asked. "If I fight you? What if I could defeat you Trickster?" He merely laughed at her.

"This is the reason why it had to be you... because of your heart... your spirit... your courage."

"What do you mean?" Kim asked, readying herself in a fighting stance.

"One day... you will fight by my side, and rule this planet as my queen. You'll rule all the nine realms."

"Nine realms?" Suddenly, before the Trickster could do anymore explaining, it was Lucius who appeared to them.

"You really think I'm going to let you walk away with what I have rightfully earned," Lucius warned. He drew his wand at pointed it first at Kim, and then back to the Trickster. "I was the one who lured everyone away to find the mayor, I was the one who laid these elaborate plans, I am the one who deserves my vengeance."

"You deserve nothing but to be my willful servant!" He cried.

"FINE! IF THAT'S HOW YOU WANT TO PLAY! _**AVADA KADAVERA!**_" The killing curse struck the man right in the chest. He was forced back, but he only staggered. Then, he merely grinned.

"That didn't kill him?" Kim asked. Lucius stood wide-eyed, quivering with fear at the man that stood before him.

"Lucius... you once served a man who called himself a Dark Lord... but I am truly a god."

"W...wh..." Lucius stammered.

"I told you I watched her for months... watching, conniving. I even lured Angelus to us by using Acathla, to try and use him against her." He pointed towards her. "You talk about power, and yet who don't know what true power is. I, as a god, do."

"Malfoy!" Harry screamed in the distance, riding his broom. Yet, it was the Trickster who shot a beam of energy at him, knocking him off his broom, sending him into the earth.

"Impressed yet, my little Crane?" He asked.

"I don't know who you are, but all of are the same," Kim replied defiantly. "You all claim your godship, but there's only one, he certainly isn't like you!"

"You'll soon find out that couldn't be further from the truth... I've defeated the greatest wizard of all time, and the greatest ranger of all time within a matter of five minutes. And now... I claim you as mine!" He shot a bolt of energy towards her, and she became encased in it.

"Lucius... are you willing to follow me," The Trickster asked.

"My Lord," he said, hesitantly kneeling towards him. "What... shall I call you."

"Yes... I guess my alias isn't necessary, considering where I'll be taking you."

"Taking me?"

"Yes... you shall be with me, in Asgard. My name is Loki, the God of Mischief. You shall address me as such!" He finished speaking, and the three of them disappeared into the night. Harry began to stir, as did Tommy and Cordy. Jason, Kat, Rocky, the rest of the scoobies and aurors all came out, and were distressed to find them without Kim.

"Where is she?" Jason asked Tommy.

"He took her," Tommy said.

"Lucius?"

"No... his name... was Loki." He passed back into unconsciousness.

To be continued...

Thanks for reading, don't forget to review!

- Googz333


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I own nothing but ideas. The characters on the other hand...

A/N: Aside from the Epilogue, this is the end of the story. There will be one more story in the "Ghost of Me" series, coming VERY soon. Thank you for staying with me for so long, I'm really excited to bring about a conclusion to this series of stories.

Whispers in the Dark - Chapter 15

Tommy woke up slowly, not recognizing where he was. He was in a bed, lined with metal railings, covered in white sheets. He looked down to see what he was wearing, and he realized he was in a hospital gown. He looked to his left, and he saw two familiar faces. Buffy was resting in the bed beside him, and Angel was sitting in the chair beside her. Suddenly, his thoughts began to flood with memories, realizing that his fiance was not sitting beside him. "Kim!"

He shot up, looking around, hoping what he remembered was a bad dream, but his future wife was nowhere to be found. The next person he saw was Harry, followed by Jason, Kat, and Rocky. "Where is she?" He asked.

"We don't know, Tommy," Harry confessed.

"What do you mean you don't know!" Tommy shouted, anger and desperation evidenced in his voice.

"We looked all over the place for a wizard named Loki, Trickster, Asgard... everything," Harry explained. "The only thing we found was in Norse Mythology. Apparently, this Loki is something of a god, if the myths are true. But where they come from... Asgard, it's a land where science and magic are one, and it's magic that I've never dealt with before, nor has anyone else that I know."

"Is there anyway we can get there?" Tommy asked.

"No," Harry said. The other ranger teens, Jason particularly, started to tear up. They knew the implications of what Harry was saying. Kim was gone forever. Unless Loki sent her back, they had no way of getting to her.

"It's... I can't..." Tommy began to sob. Harry and Jason were on opposite sides of him, putting their hands on his shoulders, trying to comfort him. But they couldn't imagine how he was feeling. Heck, they didn't know how they were getting through it, let alone how Tommy could be doing so. Jason began to openly sob as well, as did Kat. Even Harry teared up, feeling close to his former teammates from when they had battled Voldemort together. "What do I do?" He asked, choked by his tears.

"We pick up the pieces... together," Jason said in between tears of his own. The rangers and Harry stood silent for a long time, merely thinking, crying, and internally wrestling with the idea that there was no way of getting Kim back. Giles and the scoobies came in and out seeing how they were all doing, and offered their condolences. Cordelia was especially taking it hard, considering she was the one leading them out of the library.

Tommy had asked Giles if there was anyway they could interrogate the Mayor, but he had been killed by Tonks. He had tried to ascend prematurely, but Tonks was able to use a charm that destroyed the process, ultimately destroying Wilkins. Tommy's last ray of hope seemed to have dimmed at hearing the news. He should have been thankful, Wilkins could have destroyed a city, or even the world. Yet, his destruction gave him little hope of finding Kimberly.

As the day passed, both Buffy and Tommy were discharged from the hospital, citing that they were in stable condition and there was no chance of them relapsing. As they left the hospital, the two walked together down the hallway towards the exit, but the distance between them felt much larger. The emotions they both felt... Angel had left before she woke up, disappearing for good.

"I'm sorry about Kim," Buffy said, breaking the silence. "I'm sorry we couldn't protect her."

"I pledged to protect her," Tommy replied sadly. "It wasn't your responsibility... I failed her."

"There was nothing more you could do," Buffy stated firmly. "You were tortured, and then you went up against someone who was far more powerful than we could imagine. You heard Harry say that this Loki guy is a god."

"He's no god," Tommy said angrily. Buffy was taken aback by his sudden change of tone. "God wouldn't stand for this injustice, let alone be the cause of it." He paused, collecting his breath. "I'm going to find Loki. I'm going to find a way to win her back from him. And when I do, he's going to wish he never took Kim." Buffy was startled by his determination, and Tommy's words were the last spoken between them.

*Yellow Frog Arts and Athletics Complex*

"You're resigning?" Jason asked incredulously, looking at the papers Tommy had just handed his best friend. "You can't do this bro, you can't just leave because of Kim."

"That's exactly why I need to leave," Tommy responded. "This school was a dream revitalized when Kim and I got back together. Without her... my heart's not in it anymore."

"So your heart is only in it when a girl is involved?" Jason asked, getting more and more frustrated.

"It's not just some girl! But you wouldn't understand that!" Tommy yelled.

"Of course I understand it! You think you're the only one who loved Kim!" Jason shot back. "She was like my sister! I promised to protect her for life, and I failed at that just as much as you did." Jason calmed himself, trying to ease the tension between them. "You can't just let this destroy everything you've worked for. Your heart... as much as you loved her... your heart and passions shouldn't change based on whether you're with Kim or not. If she were here right now, she'd tell you to push on, to fight past the feelings."

"But she's not here!" Tommy erupted. "Do you have any idea what I've been through over the past couple weeks. I've had to call her parents, the rest of her family, our guests, our students... I've had to tell them that Kim is nowhere to be found... and that it's MY fault."

"It's not your faul..."

"Then whose is it?" Tommy asked seriously. Jason didn't know how to respond, while Tommy continued to stir in his anger. "I can't look at this place... I can't look at you and Kat, or anyone else involved with the rangers without the memories of her. I need to get away."

"Then take a sabbatical, something," Jason pleaded.

"I accepted a scholarship from Cal – Berkeley," Tommy admitted sheepishly.

"What?" Jason said, absolutely befuddled. "Scholarship for what?"

"It's an accelerated Doctorate program for paleontology, funded by someone named Anton Mercer, an expert in the field."

"What... how?"

"Because I'm a former ranger, they want to use my experience with the dinozords, and in return train me in the field."

"But why would you do this?"

"Because maybe I can use it to get new powers," he said sharply. "Maybe I can find a way to re-access our old powers, enhance them, find a way to get to Kim."

"And what if you don't?" Jason asked.

"Then I don't," Tommy admitted. "But I need to try... I need to see if I can do it. I need to see if I can bring her back. I was pledging myself to be her husband. To die for my bride. I may have never gotten to the altar, but I'm willing to give my life for her sake."

"Why not just ask Harry if there are other options?" Jason asked.

"They've all ready seemed to have given up. I'm not ready to do so." Jason still looked flustered. "Look... if you're concerned about finding teachers and the funds to pay them, I've all ready made some calls, and I wired my house savings to you the business' account."

"What?"

"They're paying me to get my College Education, and right now I don't have a bride to share a home with... it's my parting gift to you."

"Will we hear from you?" Jason asked as Tommy started to leave.

"You can always get in touch," he said, lifting up his wrist displaying his old silver communicator. "I re-wired it so you could get in contact me on a certain radio frequency. If you need me... you know how to get a hold of me."

"Good luck bro," Jason said, saying good-bye to his best friend.

*Angel Grove Lake*

The next day, Tommy showed up at the lake in his jeep, and got out to overlook the lake which had held so many memories for him. It was so different as he looked out at the lake. Forget the fact that for the first time in his life, his hair was spiked rather than long. It was the feeling of determination and purpose. He looked out at the lake once before when he had lost Kim. But at that point, it was merely due to a break up. It had been hard and out of left field, but it was nothing like it was now. A tear slid down his face as he remembered back to the night he proposed Kimberly.

"_Kimberly, this place has meant a lot to us. I still remember the first day when I tried to ask you out. This was the site where I lost my powers. The site where we first started dating, where we shared our first kiss, the site where you decided to give up your powers to pursue your dreams, and the site where I once lost hope in our romance. This place, for us, represents the reality of life. It has its joys and its sorrows, its pains and its pleasures. I know that life now isn't a fairy tale, but it's a journey which has its extreme highs and extreme lows. Kimberly Anne Hart, I want to experience that journey with you by my side, as my wife. Will you marry me?" _

"_Thomas James Oliver, I have been waiting SO long for you to officially ask me this!" _

"_So I take it that it's a yes?"_

"_You better believe it!" _

Tommy brought himself out of his memory, remembering what he said about the lake, being the representation of the reality of life. "Maybe you're gone forever," he said to himself. "But I won't stop searching until I know for sure, Beautiful." He stared at the lake for what seemed like forever, until he heard the sound of thunder in the distance. He looked to the skies to see the menacing clouds closing in on him, and finally chose to walk back to his car, which was loaded with all his belongings, and drove off to a new life. A life away from Angel Grove, a life oriented to gaining whatever knowledge he could to find Kimberly.

*S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, undisclosed location*

Billy Cranston sat behind his workstation, running what appeared to be vitals of an object. He looked past the his computer and gazed upon said object: a cube which shined a brilliant blue color.

"How's the progress?" A voice said from behind him. Billy turned to find Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., behind him.

"This power source is like nothing I've ever seen," he commented. "I was able to source it to one of the old morphers we had, and it had more energy running it than what the morphing grid could put out 100 times over. We could create a team of rangers, and they would be more powerful than ever before."

"Do you have people in mind that could be a part of your ranger team?" Fury asked.

"I do... but it would take a lot of time to create rangers that could run on this power source. Part of the problem is it's fairly unstable."

"How long before you could stabilize the powers to suit one ranger?"

"Honestly... it could take anywhere from weeks to years," Billy confessed.

"Ok... well, let's take our time, then," Fury replied. "Do you have a design?"

"As a matter of fact, here's my prototype of the pink ranger," Billy replied. Suddenly, without either of their knowledge, Loki appeared behind them. However, he could not be seen or heard by any of them. He looked on as Billy pulled up the file of the Ranger design.

"Well... looks like we've got the right man for the job... this design looks great, Billy," Fury said.

"Yes, Billy," Loki said to himself, no one hearing him. "This design looks very promising."

"Billy, what are some of the things we can do when the cube is hooked up to the suit?" Fury asked.

"Well... if my calculations are right... it would become the greatest manned weapon we have in human history," Billy answered.

"Excellent," Loki's smile gleamed wickedly, and then disappeared from the room.

"Excellent," Fury said, with a smile.

To Be Continued...

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review!

- Googz333


	16. Epilogue

Disclaimer: You know the drill... I don't own the characters.

A/N: This is the official end of the story... it's been a fun ride. Thanks for riding with me!

A/N 2: The story "Mighty to Save" will be the last installment of the "Ghost of Me" series, and will start within this week. Thanks for all your support, I hope that you all enjoy the end of it!

Whispers in the Dark - Epilogue

Kim awoke in a dark room, and immediately fear ran through her body, trembling as she considered what had happened to her. She was in a bed, but the mattress was hard and lumpy, not at all suitable for long-term use. She forced herself from it, and stepped onto the cold, metal floor as she looked around. Her eyes began to adjust, and all she saw was an empty, metallic, round, prison cell, not unlike the Rita's dark dimension in the way it was designed, but smaller in it's size. She looked down at herself and noticed she was still in the same clothes, and she had been given a change of clothes on a chair next to her bed. She continued to look, and finally she noticed a window in her cell. It was small, only big enough to see part of one's head. She wandered over to it and peered through it to see Lucius slouching over his own chair in his own cell.

She thought of saying something when her door opened. She turned, finding Loki there. He closed it, and snapped his fingers, turning on the lights. "You've been out for a while now," he said. "With the energy it took to get you here, I'm actually surprised it only took you a week to finally stir about. But then again... that's why it had to be you."

"What do you mean! Why did you bring me here?"" Kim asked, feeling her weakness catch up to her.

"It's so like humanity to let something so small dictate the course of human history," he said evasively. "It started in the garden, with a serpent who told one, small, lie. And with it... it destroyed Adam and Eve. I started merely with whispers in the dark, feeding lies and plans to villains and heroes alike... and it dictated how I won you. And now... Kim, we wait... and you'll join me as my mere whispers grow into war, which will win me the earth."

"I won't serve you," Kim replied.

"Oh, but you will," Loki replied. "No one will find you here, not even the others of my own race. I will keep you and Lucius alive here, until the proper moment. And then... you will return to your beloved planet, to your beloved friends... your beloved Tommy. And then... you will destroy him."

"You're a monster," she quivered.

"No... I'm a god, and your future king."

*Reefside, CA – 5 years later*

Jason and Katherine Scott had arrived hours before to Tommy's home. They hadn't seen him since that fateful day that he handed over his co-ownership to Jason. However, when they saw on the news that there were new rangers in Reefside, Jason could recognize the Black Ranger instantly... Tommy had found a way to design new ranger powers.

However, when they got there, he was once again mourning. In fighting Mesogog, he and the other Dino Thunder Rangers lost their powers in their final fight. Just when he thought he could find a way to find Kim, the opportunity was gone. He and Hayley had done everything, including exploring the invisi-portal network, to find a way to get to her. But she was nowhere to be found.

"So, you were able to get your PhD in 4 years?" Jason asked.

"Less than that... Mercer wanted me to get that degree as quick as possible," he replied. "I had no idea what was going to happen because of it though... it became another fire we needed to put out, him becoming Mesogog and all."

"Sorry to hear about that," Kat said.

"It's alright," Tommy replied. "How's married life?"

"It's been good... 3 years next month," Jason replied.

"We just found out we're expecting," Kat said gently.

"Congrats," Tommy said idly. "I'm... I'm really happy for you guys." A tear began to slide down the right side of his face. "I... Kim and I... we had talked briefly about when we wanted to have kids... around this time. Instead I'm... I'm sorry. I'm sure you guys don't need to hear me talk about my issues. I should have given up. She's not coming back."

"Bro..." Jason said, but didn't know what to say next.

"We all miss her," Kat replied. "And we've missed you."

"I've missed you too," Tommy confessed. "I've missed you guys so much. I was a fool not to be in your wedding, to miss that time in your lives. Would you forgive me?"

"Don't mention it bro... we understand," Jason said. "So what are you going to do next?"

"Honestly... I don't know," he confessed. "I've gotten so used to living out here this past year, living as a high school teacher. Maybe... maybe I can make a difference here. Kim used to talk about how God had a plan for all of us... maybe His plan for me was to sort out my life without her... understand what was really important to me. I think... I think I just want to make a difference in the lives of these kids. Seeing Connor, Ethan, Kira, and Trent grow up before my eyes helped me cope with the loss of Kim better than anything before. I... I actually felt joy again. I realized I don't need Kim to live my life."

"But you're still searching for her?" Jason asked.

"Yeah..." Tommy replied. "But I think I can finally forgive myself. That's what Kim would have wanted if she were here. For me to be able to move on, to hold her with an open hand." They sat in silence for a while, and finally Jason broke it.

"You sure you want to make a difference here, and not back at the Yellow Frog?" Jason asked.

Tommy grinned at the question. "You know, I spent 5 years investing in this new life... I think I want to see where it leads. But, I'm open to change, if it's where I'm supposed to go."

"Well, we could use you, especially since I'm going to be out of commission in 7 months or so," Kat said. Tommy chuckled. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Hmm... maybe it's Connor, finally coming to pick up the rest of his stuff that he left here," Tommy said. He walked to the door, leaving Jason and Kat in the living room.

"He seems like he's really doing well," Kat said.

"Yeah... I just wish we hadn't lost so much time with him," Jason confessed.

"What matters is we're with him now," Kat reassured him.

"Uh... guys," Tommy uttered from the front door. Jason and Kat heard, and ran to the door, and were shocked at the sight in the doorway.

"Billy?" Jason stated incrediously.

"Hi guys," Billy said. "I wish I could be here on less serious terms... but the fact that I'm here means that it's time."

"Time?" Kat asked. "Time for what?"

"To share with you what I've really been doing," Billy started. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," Tommy said, welcoming him in. They all went back into the living room, where Billy started to explain. "8 years ago, when the accelerated aging kicked in, Dumbledore placed a charm on you. It created memories that I was living on Aquitar. It was meant as a cover up to protect me as I've worked on a project with the government agency S.H.I.E.L.D."

"S.H.I.E.L.D?" Jason asked.

"Strategic Homeland... honestly I forget the rest of what it stands for all the time," Billy confessed. "The point is that Dumbledore had heard a prophecy that I would be needed for an upcoming war, one much more devastating that the wizarding war that you all participated in."

"So... you've been on earth all this time?" Kat asked.

"Yes, working with a power source named the Tesseract. It's an energy source we've never encountered before. We've been working with it, integrating it's power into weapons... and creating new ranger powers."

"Ranger powers?" Tommy asked.

"Yes. But we've hit a snag. Someone stole the cube, along with one of our morphers. We only have two other morphers that are operational... we need you two to come and fight on our side." He pointed to Tommy and Jason. We need you to be a part of the Avengers Initiative."

"The avenger initiative?" Tommy asked.

"It's a team of incredible people... a team we need for the war that's coming."

"A war against the person who stole this Tesseract?" Jason asked.

"Yeah," Billy said. "His name is Loki, from a world named Asgard."

"Wait... what!" Tommy's eyes lit up. "What suit did he steal?"

"Pink..." Billy said.

"Kim."

The End.

For the next chapter of the Ghost of Me saga, "Mighty to Save" will be posted shortly!

Thanks for reading, don't forget to review!

- Googz333


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